Harry Potter & the Prince of the Enchanted Forest
by SJO
Summary: Daystar's a student at Hogwarts, Morwen and Telemain are new teachers, and a lot of unwelcomed guests show up as well.
1. In Which Harry Makes Some New Acquaintan...

Harry Potter and the Prince of the Enchanted Forest  
  
A Harry Potter/Enchanted Forest Chronicles Crossover by SJO  
  
(Note: I do not own Harry Potter, which is written by J.K. Rowling. Nor do I own The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, which is written by Patricia C. Wrede. I hope to finish this one, but don't be surprised if it suddenly stops somewhere. I'm still not sure how it will go. As for the timeline, you can consider this Harry Potter Year 4 1/2, and it's about 5 years after Talking to Dragons.)  
  
Chapter 1: In Which Harry Makes Some New Acquaintances  
  
"Good day. So, are you Harry Potter?"  
  
Harry had heard that question (and the anxious excitement that always went with it) before several times. In fact, it started to irritate him. Yet, there was something about that voice that made him turned around. He saw a young man in gardener's-like clothes, unlike most of the ordinary robes of all the other witches and wizards here on Diagon Alley. He had messy, dark hair (like Harry's), green eyes, and a friendly smile, yet an air of importance about him.  
  
"Yes," Harry answered.  
  
The stranger gave him a small bow. "Daystar, at your service. I've heard about what you've done, and I must say, I'm quite impressed."  
  
He extended his hand for Harry to shake. Harry almost took it, but then he saw something else. A silvery sword hung by Daystar's side in an old scabbard. Harry winced and shook Daystar's hand weakly.  
  
"What's the matter?" Daystar asked. "Oh, the sword. Don't worry; I won't draw it unless I absolutely need to. They let me use this in place of a wand because I had more experience with it. Isn't that nice of them?"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Oh, um, the good people at Hogwarts."  
  
"You're going to be in Hogwarts?"  
  
"That's right. I'm here to get my supplies. Will you please help me by giving me the grand tour?"  
  
"Certainly. I'm heading to Gringotts right now to make a withdrawal. Do you have an account there or anything?"  
  
"Nope, but that's ok. I brought a king's ransom with me. I can wait out here."  
  
"No, come along. It's part of the fun!"  
  
So, the two went on into the large, snowy-white bank and met with one of the goblin guards. Daystar bowed and said to the guard, "Greetings. I wish you good fortune on your travels today and in the days to come."  
  
The guard looked at him blankly. "OK. Same to you, Mr. Uh . . ."  
  
"Oh, forgive me; I have not introduced myself. I am Daystar, and-"  
  
"Daystar? Oh, beg pardon good sir. I had no idea! Please, how may I serve you?"  
  
"Thank you, I'm just here for the ride. Harry here would wish to make a withdrawal out of his vault."  
  
"Absolutely. Right this way, please."  
  
Not much was spoken as they traveled down to Harry's vault. Harry thought this exchange was rather odd. Maybe Daystar was more important than he realized. After he gathered all he needed for the day and they went back, the goblin bowed. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"  
  
"Thank you; that will be all," Daystar replied.  
  
"You're very welcomed. It was a pleasure to serve you." He bowed and walked back.  
  
"What was that all about?" Harry asked.  
  
"Mother always taught me to be polite to everyone, especially creatures that might prove to be vicious."  
  
"Makes sense to me. OK, over here is Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Now, Hogwarts requires loose robes only, so-"  
  
"It's all right. A witch friend of mine fitted some special robes for me at home."  
  
"Oh. Where is you're home? You're certainly not English."  
  
"You're right; I'm not from around here. I'll tell you more about this later."  
  
"That's fine. Here's Flourish and Blotts, our bookstore. It will have some required texts, and hey! There are my friends!"  
  
Sure enough, there were Ron and Hermione waiting right inside Flourish and Blotts. "Harry!" Ron called out. "We've been looking all over for you."  
  
"Guys, this is Daystar. Daystar, I'd like for you to meet Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley."  
  
"My pleasure," Daystar said shaking their hands.  
  
"Honestly, Harry, you know better than to wonder off with strangers," Hermione scolded. She would not offer her hand to him.  
  
"Hermione! I've heard you're the brain of the school!" Daystar bowed.  
  
Hermione blushed. "Well, maybe not the brain, but I now have the chance to show exactly how smart I am."  
  
"Yeah, you sure do."  
  
"Whatever are you talking about, Hermione?" Ron asked.  
  
"Didn't you read in the letter? Their starting the first ever Honors Program at Hogwarts!"  
  
"Obviously, we didn't qualify, huh Harry?" Ron muttered.  
  
"I'm not surprised," Harry muttered back.  
  
"After all that you've been doing for Hogwarts, you're not in the Honors Program?" Daystar asked.  
  
"Well, I don't always have the greatest grades. I've had some trouble specifically in potions."  
  
"With Professor Snape? I can understand that."  
  
"You met Snape?"  
  
"I met all the professors, but that's a long story. We've got books to buy!"  
  
"Right!" Everybody pulled out the letters from Hogwarts and looked at the required texts. Daystar was also in the Honors Program, so he looked at that section first. "Let's see: Advanced Healing, Conjuring, Spells Spelled Out, The Magic Behind Magic by . . . oh no! This is too good!" Daystar nearly fell on the floor laughing. He finally controlled himself and called, "Hermione, come over here a sec. Have you noticed who wrote this last book?"  
  
Hermione looked at her own book. "Telemain? Yeah, he's teaching magic theory. What about it?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot . . . well, just a suggestion. If you want to take this class, you better get one of these." He picked up a book and handed it to Hermione.  
  
"The Magic Technical Dictionary by Noel Wobstar? How come? It's not required."  
  
"Trust me, you're gonna need it. Otherwise, you won't understand a word he's saying."  
  
"Oh, I gotcha."  
  
Daystar went on to get the rest of his books. "Let's see, where is it? Where is it?"  
  
"May I help you?" the manager asked coming up to him.  
  
"Yes, I'm looking for The Monster Book of Monsters, and I can't seem to find it. Do you-"  
  
"No! No! I'm not getting that book! They repeat that stupid course and keep us buying that stupid book!"  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. It's that bad?"  
  
"It's worse! Just look!"  
  
He led Daystar to the middle of the room and showed him a large cage. The books were alive, biting and fighting each other. The manager had to separate them with a large stick.  
  
"Seems to me you could use some help," Daystar observed.  
  
"Thank you for the offer, sir, but I don't think you want your hand bitten off." He yelled at the books, "Stop that! I won't feed this evening if you don't . . ."  
  
As he continued to yell, Daystar made some kind of yanking motion around the hilt of his sword. Suddenly, all the monster books fell over silent.  
  
"I don't believe it. Their dead!"  
  
"No, not dead. Look!"  
  
Daystar pointed at one book in the corner. It was snoring, blowing out pages with each exhale. Ron and Harry saw the whole thing from nearby.  
  
"You put all the books to sleep?" Harry marveled.  
  
"I didn't know they did sleep," the manager gasped.  
  
"All right, I believe you could get one now without any trouble," Daystar advised. The manager hastily pulled out one of the snoozing books, and Daystar cradled it in his arms.  
  
"Now, they'll wake up, right?" the manager asked.  
  
"You want them to?" Daystar joked. "Seriously, they should wake up well refreshed whenever; I just gave them a catnap, that's all."  
  
"All right. Anything else?"  
  
"I think I can find the rest, thank you."  
  
"Wow, that was some of the neatest magic I've ever seen, and I live with wizards!" Ron told him. "How did you do that spell without saying a word?"  
  
"Uh, you have to have certain authority," Daystar answered.  
  
Whenever they finished getting their books, the four students went up to the counter to pay. Ron, Hermione, and Harry all paid in the usual wizard amount: Knuts, Sickles, and Galleons. Daystar, on the other hand . . .  
  
"How much gold would you like, sir?"  
  
"Gold? Do you mean in Galleons?"  
  
"No, I mean gold." He reached into his pocket and took out a handful of really heavy golden balls, which appeared to be made of golden thread. "Don't worry, I didn't steal these. These balls are given to me from a friend of my father's, a gnome who knows how to spin straw into gold. I know you work on a different monetary system, but unfortunately, so do I. This is all I have, and I'm willing to pay you something reasonable."  
  
The flabbergasted cashier just nodded, and Daystar put the balls down.  
  
"Straw into gold? I thought that was a dead art!" Hermione observed on their way out.  
  
"Herman does it for a scholarship fund. He considered money for my going to Hogwarts was a suitable scholarship."  
  
"Herman?" The two boys raised their eyebrows.  
  
"The gnome who spins straw into gold. That's another long story. Where to now?"  
  
"The apothecary. We got to get some supplies for (ugh) potions," Harry answered.  
  
That went on pretty normally, except for some unusual items Daystar purchased. "I need four of each ingredient, one group in a normal case, three in tiny ones please. I would also like three tiny cauldrons, and three small stools, if you would, please."  
  
The person behind the counter just laughed. "What's up, Robin Hood? Teaching potions to mice?"  
  
"Nope, just to cats."  
  
The store went silent. Harry and company turned toward Daystar. "My witch friend suggested they start a familiar program, and their taking her up on that."  
  
"Whatever," the cashier answered, and got everything Daystar requested.  
  
Daystar didn't need an owl or a pet (his witch friend was giving him a kitten to take care of), he wasn't interested in Quidditch, and-  
  
"Are you sure you don't need a wand?" Harry asked. "Ollivander's is right over there."  
  
"Haven't you've been watching them Harry? That sword is better than all our wands put together!" Ron shouted.  
  
"All right, then I guess that's everything."  
  
"It certainly is," Daystar answered. "Thank you all for showing me around. Sorry if I startled you any. Things work much differently where I'm from."  
  
"That's fine," they told him.  
  
"Well, I guess I'll see you at Hogwarts in a couple of weeks."  
  
"Wait!" Harry cried. "We're going to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor for shakes. Would you like to come?"  
  
"Thank you, Harry, no. I must be going home. I need to concentrate."  
  
Daystar stood still and closed his eyes. For the first time since he came to Diagon Alley, Daystar unsheathed his sword. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all gasped at its brilliance. Daystar held the sword high above his head and began swirling it in small circles. His circles gradually got bigger and bigger. The wind began to pick up, but just a little bit, as clouds began to spin just above his sword. It looked as if a tornado was forming right above Daystar, but the weather condition hardly changed. Witches and wizards surrounded Daystar, mumbling in astonishment. Daystar called out to the swirling sky:  
  
Wind and Water, Sky and Sea, Take me where I wish to be. Epithanah!  
  
The formation began changing colors and even seemed to show some kind of picture. Then, it touched down, right on top of Daystar. Finally, without a breath of air, the formation dissolved, and everything disappeared. Daystar was nowhere to be seen. The crowd gasped. Some applauded, Harry being one of them.  
  
Ron was the only one who found the words to speak. "That was some neat magic!"  
  
Daystar's teleportation spell was all the rage in the wizard world. No one had ever seen anything like it! It was on the front page of the Daily Prophet. The front-page picture showed step by step how Daystar traveled back to his home, wherever that was. Many experts from the Ministry of Magic were making their own theories as to how he did it, but Dumbledore refused to comment. No one seemed more curious about the ordeal, though, than the three prime witnesses. Harry, Ron, and Hermione discussed the event on the Hogwarts Express.  
  
"All I can say is that spell was one work of art!" Hermione told them. "I researched it in The Magic Behind Magic and Spells Spelled Out, and they both seem to say that spell was a combination of several spell types. Mermaid, Medieval Witch, even Draconian elements were used!"  
  
"Did you find the meaning of Epithanah, perchance?" Ron asked.  
  
"That's the Draconian part. It's a derivation of the Aramaic word 'Ephatha.' I had to do some extra research for it's actual meaning."  
  
"In what? Charms 202?" Ron cracked.  
  
"No. In my Bible. It was spoken by Jesus to heal a dumb man. Mark 7:34 says it means 'Be opened.'"  
  
"Wow," Harry and Ron said together.  
  
Before they could say anything else, the three heard a small mew. Hermione's cat Crookshanks followed the sound and landed on the floor. There, the threesome saw another unusual sight.  
  
"Hmm, a pink Persian?" Ron marveled.  
  
It was true. The newcomer was a kitten whose fur was mostly pink. Her eyes were even stranger; they were cloudy and often changed colors. She and Crookshanks were there on the ground casually chatting as if no one was staring at her. Hermione pulled out some kind of strange glasses and used them to inspect the kitten's coat. "Will wonders never cease?" she whispered.  
  
"Genie!" a new voice blurted out. "This is no time for chit-chat!"  
  
The three looked up at the doorway of the cabin to see a witch in loose, black robes. She had ginger hair, glasses with rectangular lenses planted firmly on her nose, and a stern look directed at the kitten on the floor. Ron and Harry sat up straighter at the sight of her. "Professor McGonagall," Ron cried out.  
  
The kitten rolled her eyes. "Mrow, mew yow," it mumbled.  
  
"What do you mean, 'You did your job'? I don't see-oh, there you are."  
  
The newcomer stepped up in front of Harry. He was surprised; he had no idea she could talk to cats. He finally stammered out, "I-i-is something wrong, Professor Mc-"  
  
"The name's Morwen, dear, and nothing's wrong. I just wanted a chance to meet you." Morwen sat next to Harry.  
  
"You look an awful lot like-"  
  
"Oh, yes, I know. I met Minerva, and we were wondering if we were twins separated at birth, we look so alike! By the way, I've heard about your accomplishments, and they are quite amazing!"  
  
"Oh, thanks." Now that he looked closer at her, he saw a marked difference. Morwen's hair wasn't quite as dark. She looked younger, and in Harry's opinion, prettier.  
  
Hermione stared at Morwen. "Have we met somewhere before?" the girl asked. Morwen looked closely back at her, and Hermione turned away. "No, it can't be. Never mind."  
  
Ron looked at her still confused. "You speak cat?"  
  
"I speak to my cats. There's a difference. Don't worry; I'll teach it to you."  
  
"You wouldn't happen to be Daystar's witch friend, would you?" Harry asked.  
  
"As a matter of fact, I am. That's right, you did meet Daystar, didn't you? He's probably waiting for us at Hogwarts right now."  
  
"He's already there?"  
  
"Dumbledore wanted to talk to him for a little while."  
  
"We keep wondering how he did that spell. Everybody's talking about it."  
  
"It's rather difficult, all right. Not much like the magic you're used to."  
  
About that time, another witch walked in with a cart full of snacks. All the kids must have been hungry, because they ordered lots of chocolate frogs and a large bag of Every Flavor Beans. Harry was always more interested with the wizard trading cards than he was the frogs, so he gobbled a frog up quickly to see the card. "Hmm," he said thoughtfully. "I never saw this one before."  
  
"Let me see," Ron said. He leaned over Harry's shoulder and shook his head. "Doesn't look familiar to me either."  
  
The picture showed a wizard holding a long staff of polished wood. He had hard, black eyes and a very long, gray beard. He wore blue-brown robes. The name underneath his picture was "ZEMENAR."  
  
Upon seeing Harry, the wizard slyly smiled. He gave a small wave, but Harry did not feel comfortable waving back. The wizard pointed the staff at Harry, and the top began to glow a bright blue.  
  
Ron began to sneeze. He couldn't stop sneezing, and pulled out a handkerchief. Harry felt something even worse. He felt as if a rope was pulling out of his soul. It hurt him deeply, especially in his scar. Hermione tried to say a spell to stop Ron's sneezing, but it wouldn't work. None of them realized it, but the wizard in the card was stealing their magic! 


	2. In Which Cats Get Sorted

Chapter 2 In Which Cats Get Sorted  
  
"What's going on?" Morwen asked. She picked up the card and made a face. "Oh my, of all the . . . ARGELFRASTER!!" The wizard on the card started to shrink. He dropped his staff and looked down at himself. Before he disappeared from view, he shook a threatening fist at Morwen.  
  
Ron stared at her. "You killet hid?!" he said in amazement.  
  
"I melted him. Unfortunately, it's not the same thing. He'll put himself together in a few days, but he won't . . . come . . . back . . .to . . . this . . . card!" With each word, Morwen gritted her teeth and tore the card up.  
  
"Hey, we didn't even got to look at his stats!" Harry cried.  
  
"He's a wizard from my home, and he's long gone. A dragon ate him years ago. Something tells me that was a present from one of your enemies."  
  
"Oh, great, someone's trying to kill me, again," Harry mumbled  
  
"Well, actually, someone was trying to take all your magic. Don't worry; we won't let that happen."  
  
"But by bas I sneesing?" Ron sniffed.  
  
"You know, that was odd. The only other creatures I saw react to an absorbing spell with an allergy attack are dragons."  
  
"Dragons? Dragons are ildeagald."  
  
"Well-"  
  
"Let's not switch subjects now," Hermione broke in. "You're saying that wizard in the card tried to steal Harry's magic?"  
  
"Exactly. That staff he was holding absorbs any magic that happens to be nearby. Those who are born with magic find it quite uncomfortable."  
  
"So, how do I get it back?"  
  
"It'll grow back. We just need to make sure nobody takes way too much of your magic. Tell you what, to make reparation for that frog, would you like some cider?"  
  
"Oh, that's very nice of you, but-"  
  
Harry stopped as he saw Morwen pull out a whole jug of cider out of her robe's sleeve as well as three glasses. She casually poured a glass and handed it to Harry. "That is one handy spell," said Ron (he got over his allergy attack finally). "We've got to learn it!"  
  
"Calm down, dear. I'll teach it to all of you in time. Right now, let's relax and just chat."  
  
Harry took a sip and was amazed at the tangy, fizzy taste. "Wow! This is better than Butterbeer!"  
  
"Oh, that's quite a compliment. You'll be glad to know that it's not alcoholic."  
  
"Great!" Hermione took a sip as Morwen handed her a glass. "I got to have this recipe!"  
  
"Yeah, Mom would want it too," Ron said.  
  
"Well, it is a family secret, but since I'm-well, I think I could give it to you. Would you like it too, Harry?"  
  
"No, thank you. The Durseleys would never hear of it, and even if they did, they would give it all to Dudley."  
  
"Oh, I think I understand."  
  
"So, how did you're cat get that unusual coat?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Oh that's Genie. She's just a kitten. She chased a butterfly around the house and knocked over a glass bottle of magic pink smoke. She just sat in the middle of it, and most of it stuck to her coat. My husband Telemain was pretty angry, but I thought it was interesting. She looked a lot like a genie being summoned from a bottle, so I named her Genie."  
  
"I see."  
  
"Where exactly is your home?" Ron asked.  
  
"Now, there's a long story."  
  
"We got time."  
  
Immediately, the train pulled in to the front of Hogwarts. "Me and my big mouth," Ron muttered.  
  
As everyone got off, they saw Daystar waiting at the train station. He held two kittens in his arms, one with gray stripes and white paws, and the other had several black spots on its gray coat. Genie sauntered over to him. "Hey guys! Have a fun trip on the train?"  
  
All kinds of students saw Daystar as well. "Hey, it's that guy who did that spell!" They crowded him and asked him all kinds of questions. He acted coolly, though.  
  
"How'd I do it? Well, the best person to ask really is Telemain. He's over there talking to Hermione." Everybody looked over and saw Hermione with a man in a dark black beard, a multicolored robe, a vest with lots of pockets, and wearing five rings on each finger. As he talked, a book Hermione was holding was rapidly turning pages by itself. It must have been her dictionary. Everybody ran over towards Telemain, except for Ron and Harry.  
  
"Hi, Daystar. How was your talk with Dumbledore?" Harry asked.  
  
"It went well."  
  
Hermione caught up with them. "Wow, that dictionary did came in handy. Telemain was an amazing guy to talk to, though."  
  
"So, how did Daystar do it?"  
  
"You know, I got an answer, and I didn't at the same time. He essentially said he helped put the spell together, along with Daystar's father, Dumbledore, and several other professors, but I didn't quite catch how it worked."  
  
Daystar sighed. "Well, I guess I can tell you guys. I have a sixth sense for magic."  
  
"You can see magic?" Ron gasped.  
  
"No, I can't see it; I'm just aware of it. I can feel it, and hear it a little bit. I sense it so well, my brain can decipher the pattern. For instance, Hogwarts over there is blanketed with a net and shielded by an egg-like structure."  
  
"That must be the spell that blocks out muggle magic," Hermione said.  
  
"It probably is. Anyhow, since I can sense magic, I can use it directly. It's an ability that makes me as powerful as ten wizards."  
  
"Then what's you're point in coming here?"  
  
"Well, I have more than one reason, but probably the biggest one is, there is always more to learn."  
  
Hagrid's voice hollered out, "Firs' years! All firs' years over here! No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid continued. "Hey, Daystar! These all yer kittens?"  
  
"They're Morwen's actually, and they're first years, too."  
  
"They're swayt, they are. Right, get 'n the boat!"  
  
Harry and his friends joined the upperclassmen getting in the coaches heading for the Great Hall. Peeves was waiting for them, pranks ready. Something, oddly enough, made him stop short though. "'Ello, what's this?" He flew down right in front of Genie. "'Ey, Bubble Gum."  
  
"Mrow, EEEEEEEEYOW!"  
  
"Genie! Neat. I always wanted to be a genie; never got passed the board, though. Genies have such a fun nature. So, what's your real form?"  
  
"Meow."  
  
"Oh, I see. Well, if that's it, that's fine. Say, you want to make some mischief later?"  
  
Genie nodded.  
  
"Great! See you then!"  
  
"That's unusual," Harry said, "Looks like Peeves got a friend."  
  
Soon, they all made it to the Great Hall, and the Sorting began with the yearly Sorting Hat Song:  
  
Welcome, students, one and all! You made a great decision, For Hogwarts is the best school to hone Your magic to precision. But first of all, you need to know Where you will do your living. Are you not sure which house to choose For house points you'll be giving? Perhaps you're best for Gryffindor, A house that prides the brave. Or would you prefer smart Ravenclaw, Where brains are what they crave? Maybe you will enjoy Hufflepuff A house for those who work hard, Or Slytherin, if you would rather Deal Ambition's card. Still don't know? Then come to me! Put me on; don't budge! I'll look inside, and I'll decide. Trust me, I'm the judge!  
  
Everyone applauded, but Daystar looked uncertain. It seemed like he didn't know if he should trust this judge. Then, Prof. McGonagall called out names of all the new students. Around the beginning of the list, she called out simply "Daystar!"  
  
Daystar sat on the stool and put the Sorting Hat slowly on his brow, as if it were a crown. "GRYFFINDOR!!!!! BY ALL MEANS, GRYFFINDOR!!!!!!!!!!!!" There was a loud cheer from the Gryffindor table. Daystar walked toward the table and slapped a high five with Ron and Harry. "Uh, milord, I don't necessarily need to come with you," said a voice. Then Daystar realized he was still wearing the Sorting Hat.  
  
"Oh, sorry." He took it off and gave it to Prof. McGonagall. The Sorting went on as normal until-  
  
"Fflam, Flewddur."  
  
The gray-striped kitten ran up to the stool. Some people laughed, but most were too confused. The hat nearly covered his whole body. "HUFFLEPUFF!!!"  
  
The kitten, without an utterance, ran up to the Hufflepuff table. Many were asking if he was an animagus, but he didn't answer.  
  
"Genie."  
  
Harry and his friends knew what was about to happen, but everybody else was unprepared. They couldn't believe, a pink kitten being sorted! Genie perched on the stool, but before Prof. McGonagall could place the hat on her head, Genie hissed and brandished her claws.  
  
"N-n-n-nice kitty," the Sorting Hat said softly. Genie hissed again, and he said, "All right, all right, GRYFFINDOR!!!"  
  
Genie held her head high and walked for the Gryffindor table. Daystar shook his finger when she came over. "Naughty girl, cheating on the Sorting like that!"  
  
"Yow," Genie answered.  
  
"Well, it may be that important to you, but that doesn't make it right!"  
  
"How do you know how to talk to cats?" Ron asked.  
  
"Oh, Morwen taught me that spell already."  
  
Near the end of the list was the final cat. "Wachoo!"  
  
Everyone giggled at the cat's unusual name, but they stopped in wonder as he leapt from the line straight onto the stool. He turned to the students and bowed his head, but few people applauded. They must have feared he had problems or something.  
  
As the sorting hat covered the cat's body. The Sorting Hat looked in deep thought, considering what he saw almost the same way when Harry was sorted. Suddenly, the hat started bouncing around. "Stay still!" the Hat cried. "Right, I guess the best would be SLYTHERIN!!!!"  
  
Harry looked uncomfortably at Morwen. If she could talk to cats, why would she have one in Slytherin? He watched as Wachoo walked over to the Slytherin table and situated himself next to Goyle and Malfoy. Goyle tried to pet the kitten, but Wachoo leapt over his face and started jumping around the table. Morwen went over and reprimanded her kitten, but Harry was already in giggles, as was much of the school. Wachoo was certainly going to be the Slytherin weirdo.  
  
That was it. The Sorting was soon over, and the Grand Feast was served. Dumbledore made his usual speech, don't go into the Forbidden Forest, the teachers, and all that. "We are indeed honored to have our first ever Honors Program here at Hogwarts. Many of our regular teachers are going to teach those with the highest marks some of the most advanced courses. We are also grateful to have two first time teachers to join us. Telemain is going to teach Magic Theory in our Honor's Program, and his wife Morwen is our new Defense of the Dark Arts teacher."  
  
"MORWEN'S TEACHING?!" Harry, Ron, and Hermione said together.  
  
"She didn't tell you?" Daystar replied. "She's anxious about teaching magic; it has been her secret dream. She couldn't wait to get started."  
  
"That's wonderful," Hermione said.  
  
After the feast, they all went to the dorms. Now, Fred and George Weasley had planned to use their Weasley Wheezes to play pranks on the first years. During the Sorting, they decided to make Daystar their target, but they didn't know that Harry and the others were friends with Daystar.  
  
"Hey sir, you dropped your wand!" Fred called.  
  
Daystar turned and looked at it. "Thank you, but that's not my wand. In fact, I think that's your--" He made a twisting motion with his fingers around the wand, and it turned into a "--rubber chicken."  
  
Several students laughed at the backfired prank. Fred just stared with a sheepish expression mouthing, "How'd he know?"  
  
George ran up to him. "Hey there! I made some welcoming pudding for the first years. You, being the oldest, are free to have the first taste."  
  
Daystar looked closely at the pudding. "Do me a favor, would you? Put it some place cool and save it for me. I think I'd prefer to be a bird another day."  
  
George stared at Daystar as he walked up to the dormitory. "Um, ok, thank you," he stammered.  
  
"That Daystar is something else, isn't he?" Harry commented.  
  
"Yeah," Ron said. "I wonder what's the deal with him." 


	3. In Which Morwen Teaches and Daystar is I...

Chapter 3 In Which Morwen Teaches, and Daystar is Interrogated  
  
Harry woke up early the next morning. He dressed and went down to the common room to polish his Firebolt. About fifteen minutes later, Daystar came to join him.  
  
"Harry, good morning."  
  
"Good morning, Daystar."  
  
"Oh my, a broom. It flies, doesn't it?"  
  
"Well, yes of course! I play Quidditch with it."  
  
"May I?"  
  
"Well, it's covered with polish, but you can look at it." Harry handed it to him.  
  
Daystar examined the broom. "A Firebolt. Morwen doesn't have anything like this."  
  
"Of course, this is a racing broom."  
  
"Yes. Very impressive." He let go of the broom and watched it hovered in the air. Then he sat on one side to get a feel for it. "Nice."  
  
"That's not how you mount it."  
  
"Well, Morwen was the one who suggested I ride it sidesaddle. Telemain gave me horror stories of what riding on a broom is like, and he rides the traditional way."  
  
Harry had memories of when Neville lost control of his broom. "How would you control it?"  
  
"That's what I'm going to find out. I'm going to flying lessons with the first years. Truth be told, I've never really flown before."  
  
"No?"  
  
"No. Well, wait a minute. There may have been a few times, but I didn't have control over the thing flying."  
  
"What was that.''  
  
"A drag--never mind."  
  
Harry's green eyes grew wide as saucers. "Dragons?"  
  
Daystar got to his feet and handed Harry back his broom. "Man, I'm hungry. Ready to get some breakfast?"  
  
Harry didn't like Daystar suddenly changing the subject like that, but he had to admit he was hungry too. "Sounds good."  
  
"All right." Daystar grabbed something out of the air and started twisting. He started fading out, but then he came back into focus. "Whoops! I forgot I couldn't do that. I guess we're walking."  
  
"You know how to Apparate?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess that's what you call it."  
  
Harry must have lost track of time. Before he and Daystar entered the great hall, they heard intense screaming. One unintelligible syllable was enough to give Harry a headache. He quickly closed the door.  
  
"What's going on?" Daystar asked.  
  
"Howler obviously. Who'd have a reason to get one?"  
  
"I'm sorry. A Howler?"  
  
"It's a magical message that magnifies a person's voice a hundred times. It has to be opened immediately, or it explodes. It's the ultimate disgrace to get one."  
  
"Interesting," Daystar nodded.  
  
"What? You've been through worse?"  
  
"Much worse. I've been to a place where even a whisper was so magnified. Yes, I could guess what that Howler was made of."  
  
About here, the Howler's wrath was through, but the torment had just begun. The Great Hall now exploded into laughter. Harry and Daystar went in to see a boy at the Ravenclaw table, his head buried in his arms. The remaining embers of the Howler glowed beside his left elbow.  
  
Daystar and Harry took their seats near Ron and Hermione. "That was one angry girlfriend," Ron observed.  
  
"What was that all about anyway?" Harry asked.  
  
"Take my advice, Harry," Hermione said in a low tone of voice. "Don't go there."  
  
All of them laughed. "How are you this morning, Hermes?" Daystar grinned.  
  
"HERMES?!?" Hermione cried in an offended voice. Ron and Harry laughed. "I'll have you know only one other person was cowardly enough to avoid pronouncing my name, and he didn't even exist! At least, I don't think he did."  
  
"You may be surprised," Daystar told her. "What have we got first?"  
  
"Let's see. Well, we got DADA first with Morwen. Everybody's gotta take that. And Potions, that's next. Then we have a couple of hours off for lunch. Then, hey we got Advanced Charms with Hufflepuff!"  
  
"What do we have, Ron?" Harry asked.  
  
Ron sighed. "Divination."  
  
"When's Magic Theory?"  
  
"Thursday at 3:00."  
  
"Figures."  
  
"But school ends at 2:00, doesn't it?" Ron asked.  
  
"A couple of these honors classes meet after school, but only once or twice a week."  
  
"Are you sure you're not biting off more than you can chew, Hermione? I mean, remember last time?"  
  
"It's not going to be like that. The Honor's classes should be refreshing, with a low student to teacher ratio and more challenging topics. And the houses and sometimes the years are intermixed, since so few students are on this level. It will be interesting mingling with students we'd hardly see otherwise."  
  
"Is it just me, or is she sounding more and more like Percy?" Ron muttered to Harry.  
  
Harry decided not to comment, but he had to admit, Hermione's head looked rather big right now. "Well, I'm looking forward to see how Morwen teaches, so let's finish up so we can head to class. Wait, now I'm starting to sound like Perce--I mean Hermione."  
  
Ron giggled furiously. Hermione's face went really pink. Harry just finished eating so he could go.  
  
A few students were already in the large DADA room. A few minutes passed before class started. To Harry, it felt like an eternity. He doubted Morwen was late, rather they were early.  
  
The witch finally came to the classroom door, Dumbledore at her arm. "The wand is all yours, my dear," Harry heard him say quietly. "At your request, you will be observed for evaluation by some of our own professors. We will not be in the room with you, but if you need any help at all, we will be here for you. There is absolutely nothing to be nervous about."  
  
"Who says I'm nervous?" Morwen said defiantly.  
  
Dumbledore just laughed and patted her shoulder. "Good luck. You will do fine." With that, Dumbledore turned on his heel and left, Morwen entered, and the lesson began.  
  
"Good morning, class!" The students promptly looked up, pleasantly surprised. Most of their teachers weren't quite as cheerful. "My name is Morwen. Now, I'm not like any of the teachers you've ever had before, in more ways than one, some more obvious than others. Let me go through a few that aren't quite as noticeable. First, I really haven't had any official teacher training before this point (not yet, anyhow). I am more of a student teacher. Thus, I would prefer that you would not call me Professor Morwen, Doctor Morwen, or Ms. Morwen and the like. Just plain old Morwen will be fine.  
  
"Secondly, I am not from around here. You can probably tell from my accent that I am not English, but that's not the only thing. I do magic much differently than you. I don't have a wand, and I don't know the Latin mumbo-jumbo."  
  
Several students laughed at that. "You called it, Morwen!" Seamus exclaimed, while someone was making a fake cough that sounded suspiciously like, "Muggle!"  
  
Morwen's smile faded. "Silence!" Her tone was so stern, it shocked the students into silence immediately. "I am able to do magic just fine. That brings me to another point. I do expect to have fun with all of you, but I will not tolerate nonsense from anyone. I don't need any horseplay. Rest assured, if I see any foolishness, I will do more than take off points.  
  
"Now, I have reviewed everything you have covered thus far and what they expect me to cover. I am not completely familiar with all this material, but I was surprised that you haven't learned the bare basics, some of the most important spells I learned from the start. You have many defense charms and knowledge, but you lack the most important weapon of all: preparation.  
  
"That is what I intend to teach you. I will show you how to have the most important magic items on hand at all times. I will teach you important spells to make you ready for almost everything. We will also discuss some of these dangerous creatures and dark forces, but mind I may give a different spin on them than any of you will expect. We will start next time we meet."  
  
At that, Morwen started passing out sheets of parchment to each student. The parchment contained a list of ingredients. "I need for you to gather these ingredients from your potions stash. Professors Snape and Sprout will be happy to give you what you lack. As you will soon tell, that is another difference. I want this class to be in close conjunction with your other courses, as it is one of your most important. Please make sure you bring these ingredients next time, as well as your pet. We're going to have a critical lesson, so you must be prepared! I don't have anything beyond that, so until next time."  
  
Hermione raised her hand. "Please, Profes--um, Morwen, we have forty-five minutes left of class. Surely you have something."  
  
Ron shot her a look as if to say, "Shut up! She's about to dismiss class early!"  
  
"Well, I suppose there is one other thing. I still need to call roll. I know many teachers here have been able to teach you without knowing who you were, but I would be more comfortable placing names with faces. As I call your name, raise your hand, and share with us whatever information you think I need to know."  
  
Several students nodded and smiled.  
  
"Very well. Daystar!"  
  
"Right here, Morwen!" Daystar replied raising his hand.  
  
"Daystar is from the same place I am, and I actually know him very well. But, is there anything you would like for the other students to know?"  
  
"Well--"  
  
"How did you do that spell?" someone blurted out.  
  
"Very carefully," Daystar answered. "Seriously, I am 21, but I hope my age doesn't intimidate you. Dumbledore was gracious enough to open a lifelong learning program for me. I do know quite a bit of magic, but I am eager to learn it at a different angle. I guess that's it."  
  
"Well done. This, by the way, is Genie beside him. She's my kitten. She got that unusual coat from an accidental incident involving magic pink smoke. She's in a familiar program that Dumbledore also started at our request. But more on that later."  
  
She went through the rest of the list. It was very interesting. Harry was learning stuff about his fellow Gryffindors that he didn't know, and Morwen always had kind things to say. She called Seamus Finnigan's name "a fine Irish name." And when she came to Neville--  
  
"I don't think I will do very well, Morwen. I'm not very good at remembering things."  
  
"Ah, I was hoping for a demonstration for some doubters in the class." She came up to Neville, put her hand on his parchment, and said,  
  
"Sunlight bright, Water wet, Make sure Neville won't forget."  
  
The parchment glowed a bright yellow light for a few seconds, and Neville's eyes lit with an understanding Harry had never seen in his round face before. "There. That should be useful. And if you need anymore help, don't be afraid to come to my office.  
  
"All right, Harry Potter."  
  
"Here, Morwen."  
  
"What do I need to know about you, dear?"  
  
Several students spoke out. "He defeated You-Know-Who when he was just a baby! Show her your scar, Harry!"  
  
"He saved Hogwarts from the monster in the Chamber of Secrets a couple of years ago!"  
  
"He was one of our champions in the Triwizard Tournament last year!"  
  
"Thank you!" Morwen called out above the noise. "I didn't ask any of you, I asked Harry. What do you think I need to know about you?"  
  
"Well, I, er--I am seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team."  
  
"Oh, that's the sport played on flying brooms, isn't it? I'm anxious to see you play it. It's surprising no one came up with such an idea where I'm from. We're running out of time here, and I would like to dismiss you early, so let's make this quick."  
  
She went through the rest of the list. Ron was last, and he wasn't sure what to say. "Uh, you'll have three of my siblings in your other classes."  
  
"Well, that will make your last name easy to remember, anyway. All right, thank you! Enjoyed meeting all you, and I'll see you next time. Class dismissed!"  
  
The class let out about fifteen minutes shy of the bell. "Man, I like Morwen already!" Ron exclaimed.  
  
"What do you reckon all this stuff is for?" Harry asked.  
  
"Let's see. Peppermint salve, unicorn water, rose nectar?"  
  
"Sounds like some sort of perfume," Hermione observed.  
  
"Oh, you're telling me you don't know?"  
  
"Never seen anything like it before."  
  
"Well that's all Pigwidgeon needs, to smell better." Ron rolled his eyes.  
  
"Daystar, why does Morwen want to be observed?" Harry asked. "I reckon we've had teachers before without official teaching experience."  
  
"I'm not completely sure, but I think she wants to teach on a higher level. Either that or she feels insecure. She only taught once before, one on one to my girlfriend at home. I don't know how that went; I was unconscious at the time. Ready for Potions?"  
  
"No, but I guess we better go anyway."  
  
Daystar stopped by the common room to gather his Potions stuff and Genie's. He put her ingredients around her neck and carried her cauldron and stool in his hands.  
  
Once again, the three arrived at class early, and Snape bounded in right on time. Without a word, he started to call roll. Harry saw Snape's lip curl as he pronounced, "Daystar."  
  
"Here sir!" Daystar smiled. Snape scowled back. Daystar continued to smile and nodded. That took courage, Harry thought.  
  
"Genie."  
  
"Yow!" Genie answered raising her paw.  
  
Snape stepped up closer to the cat. "Is this your idea of a joke, Potter?" Snape asked coldly.  
  
"No sir," Harry answered nervously.  
  
"She's part of that program to teach familiars more about magic, you know," Daystar answered cheerfully. "Another is across the room there, Wachoo from Slytherin. It's Morwen's idea."  
  
"Yes, Morwen," Snape nodded darkly. Harry knew Snape disliked Morwen directly because she had once again kept him from getting his dream job in DADA. It seemed to Harry there was more to the story, though. Snape continued with the list, then turned once again to Daystar.  
  
"So, we have two celebrities this year. Let us see how soft fame has made you." He walked over to Daystar's counter and looked him square in the eye. Daystar sat up a little straighter, and his smile faded from his face. "Daystar, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to wormwood?"  
  
Harry gasped. It was the grilling! Snape asked Harry the same question his first day, just to make him look like a fool. Yet to Harry's surprise, Daystar stared Snape down and answered.  
  
"You'd get the Draught of the Living Death, a very potent sleeping potion. In a most infamous incident, a witch dipped an apple into this dreaded potion and--"  
  
"Thank you, Daystar, but History of Magic is a completely different course." Several people giggled at this, probably some of the Slytherins. "Another one. Where should I look if I wanted to find a bezoar?"  
  
"You'd look in the stomach of a young goat, particularly unblemished and otherwise healthy. It is a chief ingredient in poison antidotes."  
  
"Getting that confused with religious rituals? Any goat will do, Daystar."  
  
"My mistake, I apologize."  
  
"And what is the difference between mule's ear and dragonsbane?"  
  
Snape hit a nerve here. At this, Daystar raised his voice and almost leapt to his feet. "There is no difference. They both leave you with a dying or dead dragon, and a lot of trouble!" There was an uncomfortable silence for a little while. Daystar leaned back. "Sorry. That's just a delicate subject at home."  
  
But Snape wasn't through. "If you're so smart, why don't you teach class?"  
  
"I only know one potion, Professor. You are probably better suited for the job."  
  
"Very well, I shall pair you with Longbottom. Then let's see how smart you are."  
  
The students bent over the cauldrons, listening to Snape's instructions. Neville was getting it horribly wrong, but Daystar could tell. "Something is not right here."  
  
"What do you mean?" Neville asked nervously.  
  
"The threads of magic are all knotted together. It's just messed up. Don't worry, I can straighten them out." Daystar bent over the cauldron and directed his hands as though he was working a loom. "There we go. Perfect."  
  
"What are you doing?" Snape snapped as he passed. "This potion does not call for any hand waving."  
  
"Do you want this potion to work or don't you?" Daystar answered rather vindictively.  
  
"Oooooooh," several students gasped. Harry knew that look in Snape's eye. He was about to take off tons of points.  
  
It seemed to Harry that Daystar did not mean that outburst, and he was feeling uncomfortable. "May I please speak with you after class?" Daystar asked quietly.  
  
"Admirable suggestion," Snape nodded as he turned away. Harry couldn't believe it! Daystar stalled from Snape's taking away points. Then there was a loud yowl from the other side of the room. Wachoo had jumped on top of Goyle's head and had covered his eyes. Goyle knocked Draco and Crabbe into his concoction while Wachoo continued to leap around like a maniac. Everyone was laughing, except for Snape.  
  
"What is the meaning of this? That does it, ten points from Gryffindor!"  
  
"Sir, Wachoo's a Slytherin," Seamus spoke up.  
  
Snape glared at him. "You heard what I said." He looked almost like he was going to push it up to twenty when the bell rang. "Class dismissed," he sighed.  
  
"Guys, don't wait up for me," Daystar said. "I'll join you in the Great Hall in a few minutes."  
  
"You sure you don't need moral support?" Ron asked.  
  
"No thank you, I'll be fine." He disappeared into Snape's office.  
  
"Reckon we should--" Harry started to ask.  
  
"No!" Hermione snapped. "Daystar apparently doesn't want to hang around. We better get our stuff and get out."  
  
No sooner had she said that than Genie walked by Harry's cauldron and knocked it over. "Genie!" Harry whined.  
  
"Mew," Genie answered softly, almost sounding apologetic.  
  
"Oh, Harry, she didn't mean it," Hermione said gently petting the kitten's pink fur.  
  
"Sure," Ron said rolling his eyes. "Genie's just good at making magic stuff fall down."  
  
"Well, we better clean it up." Harry sighed. "Snape will have our heads if we don't."  
  
Hermione knew the charms to clean the mess up, but Harry wanted to preserve as much of it as he could. It was his schoolwork after all. As they tried to manage that, they couldn't help catching a few words from Daystar's conversation.  
  
"Look, I'm sorry I'm so particular about the subject. Father made me study as much about Potions as I could before I came. He keeps saying, 'Potions are deadly and dangerous! They brought down many a monarch.'" Snape said something, but Harry couldn't quite hear. Then Daystar said quite loudly, "But what do you expect me to do? I want to do well, and I don't want to get on your bad side! I've heard from more than one source that that's easy to do. What is the deal? You really just listen to some opinion of a hat?"  
  
"You insult the Sorting Hat? The founders of this school chose that for--"  
  
"I don't insult it, but I cannot keep myself from thinking that it's a silly idea! You heard how unsure it was last night! All the maybes and I guesses--but that's beside the point. Professor, you're my father's advisor's best friend. You helped me get home when there seemed to be no way. What have you against me, besides what house I happen to be in?"  
  
"Did you have to be friends with the Potter boy?"  
  
"You know I do. Your boss made the suggestion to. Something about keeping a certain Dark Lord in check."  
  
Harry nearly dropped the mess he had gathered into his cauldron again. Daystar was his friend only because Dumbledore told him to?  
  
Snape was raising his voice now. "You listen here! I don't care about your lineage. I don't care about the way you can do magic. I don't care about your age. In my dungeon, you are no more than a student, a dunderhead like all the rest."  
  
Silence for a little while. Then Daystar spoke up. "I'll show you. I will be the best Potions student you have ever seen. You will not be able to deny it. I will follow your instructions to the letter. I will take notes word for word. I will answer all your questions correctly. I will put together my potions without my extra sense if need be. And if you try to take points off from me for doing the best dog-gone job that I can, I will go straight to Professor Dumbledore! I'll show you what a dunderhead can do!"  
  
"You're not doing a good job staying off my bad side."  
  
"If I can't do that, so be it. Terribly sad, but I can't control your mind. But if I can't do something from your unjust way of teaching, I will at least try."  
  
Daystar was just then opening the door when Snape called him back. "Daystar!"  
  
"Yes sir?"  
  
With one last piercing look, Snape said, "Isn't that the true name of the Devil?"  
  
Daystar gave a rattling sigh and closed the door. He looked as though the thought had never occurred to him, but then looked up in surprise to see Harry and the others there. "How much did you hear?"  
  
Hermione showed immediate concern. "Daystar, please understand that we didn't mean to eavesdrop. It just happened."  
  
Ron's face lit up. "Man, way to go, Daystar! Somebody's standing up to Snape and winning at last! Whoa, you have some nerve!"  
  
Meanwhile, Harry stared at Daystar with mixed feelings of anger and embarrassment. "All right, Harry?" Hermione asked.  
  
"You're a babysitter," Harry gasped at Daystar.  
  
"What?" Daystar asked.  
  
"I heard you. I thought you became my friend because you respect me for who I am, not because of what I've done. But you're my friend just because Dumbledore told you to. Thinks I can't face Voldemort by myself!"  
  
"Don't say that name!" Ron said through gritted teeth. Daystar looked like he was suppressing a giggle.  
  
"I met Voldemort several times in my life, and in case you haven't noticed, I'm still alive! I'm in my mid-teens; I can take care of myself! I don't need a babysitter!"  
  
He turned on his heel and was about to leave them all behind, when Daystar yelled at him, "HARRY POTTER, I AM NOT A BABYSITTER!'  
  
Everyone turned and looked at Daystar. "Anyone have the time?" he asked quietly.  
  
Hermione checked her watch. "10:30."  
  
Daystar sighed. "Come on. It's time I told you." 


	4. In Which Daystar Finally Tells His Long ...

Chapter 4: In Which Daystar Finally Tells His "Long Story"  
  
Daystar led the others to the Fat Lady. Harry was confused. It seems whatever Daystar wanted to tell him, he didn't want to say in the open, but how would they get enough privacy in the Gryffindor Common Room?  
  
"Good day, my lady," Daystar nodded at the Fat Lady.  
  
"Good day," the Fat Lady bowed her head. "Password?"  
  
"Pish-posh, if you please."  
  
"Certainly." The Fat Lady swung the picture forward.  
  
"Thank you." Daystar went in but walked by the squashy armchairs into a side door. He whispered what sounded like, "Aberolingarn," made some kind of twisting motion around the hilt of his sword, and opened the door to reveal an unused classroom.  
  
"I didn't know this was in Gryffindor," Ron observed.  
  
"It isn't," Daystar answered while locking the door. "I just let the door open to this room for the time being. I really, really, really don't want this to get out."  
  
"All right. We can be really tight-lipped about some things."  
  
"Gotten used to it by now," Hermione agreed.  
  
"We'll keep your secret as best we can," Harry said.  
  
"I'll know you'll do your best. All right, here goes." Daystar inhaled deeply and looked intently on his three friends. "I'm a prince."  
  
Ron's eyes grew huge. "Oh my. Your Majesty!" He knelt down at Daystar's feet and refused to look up. "I am not worthy to stand in thy presence. Forgive for all the times I might have treated thee with disrespect. It was not intended, I did not know."  
  
Daystar rolled his eyes. "Ron--"  
  
"Harry, Hermione, get down! No head should be higher than royalty's!"  
  
"Ron, he's taller than all of us," Harry reminded him.  
  
"You're making a fool of yourself, Ron," Hermione said.  
  
"I am not! I'm giving my proper respect to--"  
  
"Get up, Ron," Daystar said. "This is exactly why I tried to avoid telling anybody."  
  
Ron stood but he still had an astonished look on his face. "Forgive me. I'm from such a poor family, I felt like I'm nothing among royalty."  
  
"Don't worry about it. Professor Snape is right about one thing. In this world, I'm like everybody else."  
  
"I always figured you were prince," Hermione said. "Or at least a knight or a duke. You just have that flair about you."  
  
"Yeah, I think I noticed it too," Harry nodded.  
  
"But you're not Prince of Darkness."  
  
"Of course not!" Daystar answered. "I don't know where Professor Snape got that. I am a prince of an enchanted kingdom, however."  
  
"Well yeah, that would stand to reason. Why would a muggle prince become interested in Hogwarts?"  
  
"Well, why would a even a magical prince be interested in Hogwarts?" Ron asked. "Why would you mingle with us commoners? As a prince, don't you have more important stuff to do?"  
  
"I only knew I was a prince for the past five years, Ron," Daystar asked. "There's still a lot I need to learn."  
  
"You only knew for five years?" Harry repeated.  
  
"Yeah. See, my father, the king of course, was trapped by a very complex spell. I was the only one who could rescue him because I was his only son and I could work the sword. Only problem was, I was just a baby. So Mother raised me on the edge of our domain. She taught me reading, writing, fighting, a little bit of magic, history, some history, and most importantly etiquette. It was basically all the stuff I needed to be a king. Then, when I was 16, Mother gave me the sword and sent me on a quest. She only told me I could only come back when I knew why I had to leave. I basically stumbled around, met a few friends, and did my best to survive. But in my efforts, the sword recognized me as the heir to the throne. It gave me the power to sense magic, and I was able to free my father. The rest, more or less, is history."  
  
"I see," Hermione said quietly. "Still, that doesn't really explain why you're here at Hogwarts. And what exactly do you mean, 'this world?'"  
  
With a pulling motion, Daystar conjured the squashy armchairs from the common room. "Sit down. This will take a while." So they sat, watching Daystar intently. Daystar pulled up one of the hardwood desks and began:  
  
Now that I think about it, it's a rather funny story. At the time, however, it wasn't funny at all. It was frightening, morbid, and not just a little strange.  
  
You see, after I found out I was a prince, I was expecting kinda a long, boring life. I didn't exactly feel I was prince potential, and I was sure our chief adviser would lecture me to death about my duties. Sure, I thought it would be good, being in the huge castle and having my every want and need met at the snap of a finger. Not to mention, my mother and father were together for the first time in my life, and we were a happy family. Actually, about the opposite happened. I didn't do much of anything except help my parents whenever they needed an extra hand. I continued to explore the whole sixth sense deal until I mastered it. Other than that, I more or less just hung out at the castle. It wasn't too bad, but it was still boring. I wanted to be like a chief ambassador, go outside the Enchanted Forest-- ("Pardon me, but did you say the Enchanted Forest?" Hermione asked suddenly. "Yes, that's our domain." Hermione looked back in wonder and interest as Daystar continued.) I wanted to see other creatures and kingdoms. I didn't complain, though. I live in a unique place, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. But I just wanted to get out and do stuff. Typical, teenage, "leaving-the-nest" type feelings, you know.  
  
Then, about a month or two ago, Father took me out on a father-son boating trip. We ventured a couple of hours before sunrise to a lake on the border of our lands called the Lake of Weeping Dreamers. We had a whole morning of great stuff planned: fishing under the fading stars, breakfast as we watch the sun come up, a little swimming, a little rowing, and just being together. I don't think we ever did anything like that, since he was gone for so long.  
  
We didn't catch anything, but we still enjoyed fishing on the edge of the lake. After the sun came up, we got in our boat to see what there was to see on the lake. As we got well out to the water, Father looked like he was deep in thought.  
  
"What is it?" I asked.  
  
"Daystar," he answered, "I have to be honest with you. Your mother and I had another reason for this little trip."  
  
"What's up?"  
  
"Well, Willin--" (that's the elf that is Father's chief advisor) "has been complaining lately that you're getting, for lack of a better word, lazy. He says that you're forgetting who you are and all about your lineage."  
  
"Father, you know Mother taught me all I needed to know about being a prince."  
  
"Yes, yes, I know she taught you the necessary diplomacy among other things. However, your mother has never been King of the Enchanted Forest. I have."  
  
"Mother was a princess once."  
  
"Yes, I know, but there are some things she can never understand about this place that I do. It's important that you learn them while there is still time."  
  
"Father, what are you saying?"  
  
"You are in a very unusual situation, Daystar. The trials for the person next in line to be King of the Enchanted Forest are normally held when the current king is either dying or dead. When I became king, I was expected to do things I had no clue about how to do, talk to beings I had never even heard of. My father wasn't around to tell me this stuff. All I had was Willin, and he wasn't always a lot of help. Yet, you have been chosen by the sword and the forest to be my heir in my lifetime. I feel like it is my responsibility to teach you what it means to be a king. I think you need to know more about magic."  
  
"But I can do magic as well as you, Father. I've mastered it."  
  
"Yes, you do use your power well, but remember that not even the Kings of the Enchanted Forest are immune to its traps and spells." Father stroked his ears as he was saying this and grimaced. I guess he knew by experience. "Even though you can use it, I think you need to understand a little bit more what it is. Why do you look so glum? I thought you would think this would be a fun alternative."  
  
"Yeah, it probably will be at times, but to think about you, Willin, and Telemain lecturing about how to tell different types of fairies apart and what potion will do what, it just doesn't sound too inviting."  
  
"Now, I didn't say anything about lectures, Daystar. I want this to be as interactive as possible. Sure, there will probably be some lecture, but really the only way to learn magic is to experience it. Careful, the current's picking up."  
  
I looked around. I wasn't rowing much when we were talking, so our boat was drifting out to the heart of the lake. Now I grabbed my oar and debated whether I should try fighting the current or go with it. Yet, as I watched, the current wasn't only picking up, it was taking us into a huge whirlpool that appeared out of nowhere.  
  
"Holy Toledo!" Father yelled. We fought the current with all we had, but the more we resisted the stronger the pull. Our boat was eventually destroyed, and we tried out best to swim back to shore. It was no use. We were going in whether we liked it or not.  
  
"Daystar!" Father called out.  
  
"Father!" I answered.  
  
He swam toward me and hugged me. I think he was intending to rescue me, but it did no good. The next thing I knew, the water was rushing over our heads, and we were constantly swirling. Then, everything went black.  
  
When I came to, I found Father and I were lying on our stomachs, still holding hands, in a back alley. I nudged my father's head. "Father? Are you alright?"  
  
Dad slowly opened his eyes, got on his knees, and looked around. Once again, he hugged me around the shoulders. "Daystar, Daystar," he kept whispering in my ear.  
  
"Where are we, Father?"  
  
"One of two places, evidently."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I'm sorry son. I didn't know this would happen."  
  
"You don't mean we're . . . dead, do you?"  
  
"We must be. We drowned."  
  
"Oh yeah, right. But Father, you're as dry as a bone. It's like we've never been near water at all."  
  
"That's probably because these are our spiritual bodies, our souls. Odd, I always had the impression that they would look different. Anyhow, I've never heard of a wet ghost, so I suppose souls don't get wet even if the body drowns."  
  
"Well, at least we went together."  
  
"I don't know if that's a good thing. I mean, we're lucky the sword's still in the Enchanted Forest, but the forest lost its king and its heir. This is not going to be good for our kingdom, but I guess there's not much we can do about that now."  
  
"OK, what do we do?"  
  
"I guess we go out there and find out."  
  
So we went out into the busy street. It was London, but we didn't know that. Everybody was giving us awkward looks as we walked by.  
  
"I have a bad feeling about this. I don't think we're in the good one."  
  
"Well, it's not bad. At least, nobody's bowing and your majesty-ing us to death. And it looks rather busy, so we'll probably have a lot to do."  
  
"Yeah, but it feels so barren and cold." Father probably felt that way because of the lack of magic. Nobody we passed seemed to offer much help. Then Father got that same concerned look he did before he told me about teaching me magic. "Daystar, there's something I probably should have told you, but I didn't want to disturb you on our trip."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"My father, your grandfather, died by drowning in the Lake of Weeping Dreamers."  
  
I guess I didn't look quite as shocked as he was thinking I would, but I did look at him with curiosity. "Does that lake have something against kings or what?"  
  
"I don't know. I never learned the circumstances of his death too clearly. There weren't a lot of people with him. I always figured he wanted to prove how great a swimmer he was and found out too late that he wasn't. He might have been pulled into that same whirlpool, but I didn't know. That lake was the last connection I had to my father, and I really wanted to remember him right then."  
  
"Think he might be around?"  
  
"Possibl--wait a minute. Did you feel that?"  
  
"What?"  
  
Father walked a couple of paces back, and then I felt it too--a familiar tingle against my skin. "Magic," Father whispered. "Very strong, too. It's coming from in there. Maybe this is where we need to go."  
  
I looked up at the sign above the door. "The Leaky Cauldron? I don't know, Father. It sounds like a hangout for old hags."  
  
Nevertheless, Father opened the door and went in. We didn't see any old hags, but it was full of interesting people dressed in colorful robes and whatnot. While walking through the room, an unpleasant smell crossed my nostrils. "Ugh! Alcohol! Father, this is a bar!"  
  
"Nope. It's a family establishment." Father pointed at a young boy probably about 10 or 11 sitting next to who was more than likely his father. "Besides, bar or not, this place has magic, and I intend to talk to the people here."  
  
So Father walked up to the counter and talked to the toothless, old bartender. "Good day, gents. What can I do for you?"  
  
"Good day, sir," Father nodded. I silently noted that it was good that the man said "day." It's positive. "We came for information."  
  
"Well, I'll be more than happy to provide you with what you need."  
  
"Then would you please tell us if this is the good one or the bad one?"  
  
The man laughed. "It's the only one."  
  
Father nodded, puzzled. "I have heard that theory before," I whispered.  
  
"Very well," Father said uncertainly. "Where are we supposed to go?"  
  
"To do what?" the man smiled.  
  
"To, um, make our reckoning, I suppose."  
  
The man laughed again. "What are you on about?"  
  
"Isn't it obvious? We're dead, aren't we?"  
  
The man stopped laughing and looked at us curiously. "What makes you think something like that?"  
  
"We both drowned. This has to be the afterlife."  
  
"You're not dead," the man said, now drawing out some sort of long stick. He prodded Father's chest and smiled. "See? You're heart's still beating. Never in my life have I met anyone who was dead who had a heartbeat."  
  
Father didn't know what to say for a while, but then I said, "But we drowned! We know we did!"  
  
The man just laughed, shook his head, and went to the other side of the counter. I thought I heard him say something that sounded suspiciously like, "Nutters."  
  
"Well, that didn't do much good," I told Father.  
  
"There's gotta be someone around here that will tell us what we need to know." He got up and walked around. We went out the back door after a long, uneventful search. Then Father looked around in excitement. "The magic's even stronger out here."  
  
"But this is just a wall."  
  
"There's a way around it, though. There has to be." He felt along the wall. "I knew it. There's a spell here." He grabbed the strings of magic and tugged. The wall pulled up as if it were a curtain. He pulled as hard as he could, then let go. The wall fell back down again. Then he grabbed another set of invisible, magic cords and pulled again. This time, the wall opened from the sides, but he still couldn't keep them open. "Here. You get these on the left. I'll take these on the right. On the count of three: one, two, three, PULL!"  
  
It was like opening drapes made out of brick. I don't know how we managed it, but we got the wall open long enough for us to go through. There we noticed the interesting assortment of people, the most colorful we've seen yet.  
  
"Well, you have to admit, this place is definitely--"  
  
"Crowded?" I suggested.  
  
"I meant unique, but you're right. It is rather crowded."  
  
"Have you ever been to a place like this, Father? It's like a magical bazaar."  
  
"I have heard of them. Morwen goes to the market in Unicorn Hills on a regular basis. I don't think I've actually been to one. This is rather organized. Look at that cauldron shop."  
  
"Eeylops' Owl Emporium? Who knew owls were all the rage in the magical world? I always assumed they were cats."  
  
"If there's one thing I learned about magic, it's never assume anything."  
  
"Quality Quidditch supplies? What's Quidditch?"  
  
"It's probably pronounced 'Kidditch,' or 'Kiddeetch.' It looks like a very French word. I have no idea, but I think it probably has something to do with flying broomsticks."  
  
"Why do you say that?"  
  
"There's a broom on display in the window."  
  
"I can't tell from here. Too many kids are crowded around staring at it."  
  
"Let's see, Gringotts." Dad stopped to read aloud the inscription on the door. "A protected treasure trove for pirates, maybe?"  
  
"But aren't pirates thieves themselves?"  
  
"Most of them are, but we don't know about all of them."  
  
"Why do I smell dragon smoke?"  
  
"Don't ask me."  
  
"Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions?" I stared at a male manikin sporting a sparkling lime green robe. "Good night, I wouldn't be caught dead in something like that!"  
  
Father laughed. "Wait till you see the king robes you have to wear." Suddenly, he got to his knees and started groaning. I came to help him, but that's when I felt it too. It was a sudden burning, itching sensation, like thousands of spiders were crawling all over me. (Ron winced.)  
  
"What's going on?" I asked.  
  
"The magic is so strong here," Father managed to say. "It's not like the forest. It's more concentrated. I think we found the heart of this whole place."  
  
"Should we go in?"  
  
"We must. This maybe where we're supposed to go." So we stood and went in. I briefly glanced at the sign: Ollivanders Est. 382 B. C. The door made a bell ring, and two people looked up to see us. One was a very old man with large eyes standing behind a counter. The other looked middle- aged with mismatched colorful clothing. This man lit up right when he saw us.  
  
"Gwydoben! You old rascal!" he said addressing Father. He ran over and shook Father's hand vigorously. "What brings you to London?" Father opened his mouth to say when the man turned his attention to me. "Ah, I see you finally managed to bring your son Mendanbar here. Welcome, boy! Glad to see you finally escaped that dreadful trap. I always knew you would."  
  
"If you please, sir," Father said, "I am Mendanbar. This is Daystar, my son."  
  
"How wonderful!" the man went on still looking at me. "You're a grandfather now--Wait a minute." The man faced Father again. "YOU'RE Mendanbar?"  
  
"Yes sir. Gwydoben was my Father."  
  
"Pleased to meet you, then," the man said shaking Father's hand again. "Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, United Kingdom."  
  
"United Kingdom? That's what this country is called?"  
  
"Yes, and your father is one of the greatest men to ever take his position."  
  
"Yes, I suppose he was."  
  
"Of course. So, you brought your son here to get a quality wand from Mr. Ollivander here?"  
  
Father and I exchanged a meaningful look. No wonder this place reeked with magic. It's a wand shop.  
  
"I don't think they have," Mr. Ollivander answered. "I remember reading Gwydoben's story years ago in the Daily Prophet. Neither his son nor his grandson will need a wand."  
  
"Oh yes, how could I forget?" Mr. Fudge said throwing his hands into the air. "Gwydoben's the one who can do magic so efficiently without a wand."  
  
"Forgive me sirs," Father said, "but I fail to understand why you speak of my Father in the present. He died long ago."  
  
"And we're dead," I added. "At least, I think we are."  
  
Mr. Ollivander scrutinized us. "How do you think you died?"  
  
"We drowned," Father answered.  
  
"By any chance, was it in the Lake of Weeping Dreamers?"  
  
"Yes," I answered. "How did you know?"  
  
"Oh, that's a difficult story to explain," Mr. Fudge interjected. "I'd tell you, but I never really could follow it. Could you, Ollivander?"  
  
"No sir. I try to admire magic philosophy at a distance. But I will tell you two this: you are not dead."  
  
"No sirree, you aren't," Mr. Fudge said. "Tell you what, I'm going to summon an old friend of mine. He'll be sure to clear up any confusion you have. Why don't you wait for him at the Leaky Cauldron?"  
  
"That bar again?" I said wincing.  
  
"Alright then, Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Here, have some sundaes on me." He put a bunch of gold and silver coins into Father's hand. "My friend should get to you in at least an hour."  
  
"Thank you, Mr. Fudge," Father said bowing.  
  
We found the ice cream parlor easily and ordered a couple of Chocolate Delight sundaes. "So, Father, do you believe that we might possibly be alive?"  
  
"Well, we might be, but I don't see any way that your grandfather is."  
  
"Why not? He drowned in the same lake as we did. And if we're alive--"  
  
"The forest would know if its king was alive or dead. And the forest loudly proclaimed to all the world that my father was dead."  
  
I dropped my spoon. "How do you mean?"  
  
"When a king of the Enchanted Forest dies, the forest goes through a period of mourning. Not just the animals and the civilians, but all the trees, flowers, even the rocks. And it's not just boo-hooing either. It's loud wailing. Plus, all the moss and flowers look as though they're wilting, and the magic kinda sags and oozes out. It's not comfortable to walk through the forest during the king's funeral. Trust me, I know. Things get back to normal in about three days, but man those three days are uncomfortable. I asked your mother if anything like that happened when I was gone, and she said no. It was her only comfort, knowing that I was still alive. The forest knew."  
  
I contemplated this as I continued to eat. Then how could both these be true? Could this just be a dream? My answer came, as I was finishing up.  
  
Mr. Fudge's friend walked straight over to our table. "Do I have the pleasure in addressing King Mendanbar?"  
  
"Yes sir, but you may call me Mendanbar if it pleases you. This is my son Daystar as well. And who might you be?"  
  
The man bowed as he said, "Professor Albus Dumbledore, at your service. I must say, you look remarkably like your father."  
  
I thought he was speaking to me. "Why, thank you sir," I said.  
  
"Oh yes, you look like him, too, but you also look much like your grandfather."  
  
"Sir, if you please," Father said, "Daystar and I were just discussing this. We do not understand how you could know my father. He is dead."  
  
"Oh no, he is very much alive. He's Minister of Magic in Australia. Enjoys it tremendously. Fudge tried to get him to come see you, but he's been very busy lately. He sends his regards."  
  
"Sounds like something he would do," Father muttered. "Could you please explain to us how this could be?"  
  
"Yes. You see, you and your father discovered the hard way that the Lake of Weeping Dreamers is not really a lake at all."  
  
I didn't get this. "It looks like a lake. It's wet like a lake. How can it not be a lake?"  
  
"It does look remarkably like an ordinary lake, but the Lake of Weeping Dreamers is actually a portal. This might be hard to explain. The two of you live in what we call a dreamension."  
  
"A what?" Father asked.  
  
"A dreamension. It is a shorthand way of saying dream dimension. It's a country none of us would deny exists, but it can't be plotted on a map, and humans cannot reach it by traveling in the normal fashion. Many believe they are completely different worlds created by open minds. There are thousands, perhaps millions of them that exist. They can only be reached by two ways. One is by dreaming, usually during sleep but occasionally through daydreams. No one really understands how the soul finds the way to these mysterious places, but it happens. In those circumstances, the body stays in its current world. And the other is through a portal, where both the body and the soul go to the strange world. Some dreamensions have several portals. Yours only has one, as far as we could tell."  
  
"Well, that's most reassuring," I said sarcastically. "We're not dead, we just don't exist!"  
  
"Daystar!" Father rebuked.  
  
"But you heard what he said, Father! We're no more than a figment of someone's imagination!"  
  
Professor Dumbledore laughed. "You, young man, have stumbled upon one of the greatest debates in my lifetime. Which world is real, and which is just a dream? This world is a dreamension for you. Some philosophers would argue that you dreamed Diagon Alley up, here. I sometimes even fancy myself a mere twinkle in the eye of a clever lady from Edinburgh. In truth though, I believe it doesn't matter. God created man, and He gave man the ability to create. That is all we know and all we need to know."  
  
"So, let me see if I understand," Father said. "We are from a world that only exists in dreams for people here. We got here through a portal that was cleverly disguised as a calm lake on the edge of my domain, and I'm not sure I like that. Is that right?"  
  
"Very good," Prof. Dumbledore nodded.  
  
"Excellent. That is rather confusing."  
  
"I know. I don't completely understand dreamensions myself, but I am delighted with them. They are so unpredictable."  
  
"Well, it is indeed good news to hear that we are alive. Now, how do we get back?"  
  
Prof. Dumbledore leaned back in his chair. "'Aye, there's the rub.' From all the research your father has done, it appears the portal only goes one way."  
  
"What? How come?"  
  
"Have you never heard the legend of the lake? Your father told it to me. It was said to be made of the tears of children who fled from their wicked stepmothers. They feared to go into the Enchanted Forest, but they could not go back to the horrible lives behind them. They wanted a place of safety and order. The magic of the forest provided a way, and they never were seen again. Obviously, they didn't want to ever come back."  
  
"But we have to go back! I am the king, and this is my heir! The forest will die without us, because of some spells a friend of mine set up."  
  
"I don't know what to tell you, your majesty. Your father has tried for years to go back. He managed a way to visit through his dreams, but he never found a way to stay."  
  
We both looked rather somber about that. I wanted to go out and do new things, but I didn't want to leave everything behind in order to do so. Professor Dumbledore smiled and pulled out his wand and a very strange pocket watch. "But that doesn't mean you can go without the comforts of home. How would you like to see your mother again?"  
  
"How can we do that?"  
  
"It's nearly dusk here, but you are a few hours ahead of us. It's already well into the evening in the Enchanted Forest. I can conjure your wife so she could come here through her dreams. Here, I will say the spell, and you grab the thread of magic and concentrate on her." Father nodded, and the professor stood, swished and flicked his wand. "Incubio Enchanto!" he whispered. Father grabbed the silvery whisp of magic and in a few seconds Mother stood before us. She was in her nightgown, her black hair hung straight down to her feet, and she looked like she had been crying for a long time.  
  
"Cimorene!" Father cried.  
  
"Mendanbar!" Mother sobbed.  
  
Father hugged her and whispered, "Dear heart," into her ear. She cried on his shoulder.  
  
Then she saw me, gave me a hug, and whispered, "Daystar, my baby boy, my baby boy." I don't think she ever called me that.  
  
"Listen, Cimorene, we're still alive," Father said pulling her toward him. Mother shook her head. "Yes, honey, we are alive! This is Professor Dumbledore. He told us everything."  
  
"My pleasure, your majesty," Professor Dumbledore said, bowing.  
  
"Here's something to make you feel better, darling. Florean! One chocolate delight sundae for my wife, please!"  
  
Mother felt a little better eating her sundae, especially with Father holding her hand as she ate. We tried to explain to her about what Professor Dumbledore told us, and though I think she understood, I wasn't sure she believed it. The stores in Diagon Alley were closing, but Professor Dumbledore offered to show us around London. He got us more "muggle" clothes, of course. That was fun.  
  
Then, Mother started to fade a little. Professor Dumbledore checked his watch again. "I'm sorry dear, but it's nearly morning where you are. You're about to wake up."  
  
Father took Mother's hand. "Cimorene, when you wake up, tell everyone that we're alive, and we are coming back. Tell, Willin, Kazul, the gargoyle, everyone, but especially Telemain and Morwen. We'll need their help."  
  
"They won't believe me."  
  
"Tell Telemain to search the lake for our bodies, without going into the lake itself."  
  
"And, take this." Professor Dumbledore handed her a galleon. "You should have it in your hand when you wake up. It will work as proof of where your husband is."  
  
"Thank you," Mother whispered as she disappeared.  
  
"Are you sure we'll be coming back?" I asked father.  
  
"Yes. If I know my father, he probably tried to reach the Enchanted Forest all by himself. That's the way he is: a perfectionist and a stuff shirt. We're going to get the two people who know more about magic than anyone. We won't do it by ourselves; we're getting help. If anyone can help us get back, they can."  
  
"You may have something there," Professor Dumbledore said. "I'll get you a room at the Leaky Cauldron so that you may rest. And in the morning, I'll come to introduce you to a few more people who will be more than willing to help."  
  
Professor Dumbledore was as good as his word. He flew down to get us, but he didn't have any extra brooms for us to fly on. "It would look too conspicuous. Most people usually ride our own train, but it's not running until the beginning of the year. Perhaps the best way is to take a bus." So saying, he held out his wand, and the Knight Bus appeared in front of us. The young man in charged looked a little too overeager and excited when he saw Professor Dumbledore. "Take us to Hogsmead," the Professor instructed.  
  
"Hogsmead?" Father said. "Sounds Viking."  
  
"Oh, that's not exactly where we're going, but it's the closest stop."  
  
The ride on the bus was rough, and it took all day. We did make it to Hogsmead eventually, and from there Professor Dumbledore got a boat to take us across the lake. As we reached the shore, the professor checked his watch. "Right on time! Now you can summon that witch and wizard you wanted, your majesty."  
  
"Well, one of them is a witch, but you mustn't call the other a wizard. He gets quite tired of that. He's a magician."  
  
Professor Dumbledore looked at us bewildered. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes. He is a very learned man. You can tell that just by talking to him."  
  
"Forgive me for doubting, but in this world a magician is a false wizard, one who claims to know magic but only performs tricks and illusions. It's insulting to watch them."  
  
"Well, in our world a magician is someone who has studied several types of magic. Telemain is one of the best."  
  
"Very well," Professor Dumbledore nodded. He whispered the incantation, and when Father grabbed the spell, Morwen and Telemain appeared before us.  
  
"Mendanbar! Daystar!" Telemain cried. "Where have you been all day? We've been looking all over for you!"  
  
"He means for your bodies," Morwen added.  
  
"Didn't you listen to Cimorene?" Father asked.  
  
"Uh, we did listen, but, well to be frank--"  
  
"You didn't believe her?"  
  
"Your majesty, such delusions are common during the grieving period," Telemain said.  
  
"What about the galleon?"  
  
"You really shouldn't have made golden coins your favorite currency," Morwen said. "But that's in the past. We believe you now. Good to see you're fine. You must be Bumble-something."  
  
"Dumbledore," the Professor nodded.  
  
"Yes, that's right. I'm Morwen. Honored to meet a professor of magic."  
  
"Professor of magic?" Telemain echoed. He rushed up to shake the professor's hand. "I am Telemain the magician. I must enroll."  
  
"Well, Telemain, I will be honored to lead you and Morwen on a tour."  
  
"This is a school?" I said in amazement. It was the first time I got a good look at the castle before us.  
  
"Your majesties, distinguished guests, welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."  
  
"Hogwarts?" Morwen said with amusement. "Only a magical school would name itself after pig blemishes."  
  
"It looks a lot like home," I told Father.  
  
"It does," Father nodded. "Perhaps a little gloomier, but yes it does."  
  
As we went inside, we noticed all the staircases overhead. "Now it looks even more like home," I remarked.  
  
"Yeah. Too many stairs."  
  
"This is one of the common rooms for one of our houses: Gryffindor."  
  
"Nice," I said.  
  
"So it's a dorm?" Morwen asked.  
  
"Yes. We have four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff." I couldn't stop myself from snickering at a couple of those names."  
  
"So which are the girls' houses?"  
  
"Oh, they are intermixed. We separate the dormitories for each house, but the students are chosen for their houses based on their strongest quality. Right, let's move on.  
  
"This is the Great Hall. We meet here for feasts, meals, and general assemblies."  
  
"Candles floating in the air. Looks romantic," Morwen said quietly to Telemain.  
  
"How nice! It has a glass roof!" Father remarked.  
  
"Actually, it's magicked to look like the sky outside."  
  
"Hmm. Good idea. I got ideas for a anniversary present for Cimorene."  
  
"Yes, well I believe you will be most interested in meeting the faculty?"  
  
"They are here?" Morwen asked. "But school obviously has not started yet."  
  
"School will be starting up again in a few weeks. Most of our teachers are here early to set up. We need to take extra precautions this year."  
  
So he took us around to meet the faculty. Most were overjoyed once they realized who Father was. Professor Trelawney cracked me up. She put her hand on Father's head and said dramatically, "I see a bright future for you. You will become famous, and you will do many great things."  
  
"I am, and I have," he answered nodding. "I'm a king."  
  
Then she went on about how long his reign will be, and I told Father as we went out, "She's just saying that."  
  
"I would show you on this part of the tour our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but unfortunately, we haven't been able to pin one down lately."  
  
"So the position is open in your most important course?" Morwen asked.  
  
"I'm afraid so, and I will need to find someone very soon. We're going through some very dark times.  
  
"Minerva McGonagall. She's our Deputy Headmistress, and Professor of Transfiguration." Professor Dumbledore introduced us all to her, but I was too wondering about that subject.  
  
"Trans-what?"  
  
"Transfiguration, the magic of turning something into something else."  
  
"Oh, you mean like this." With a quick twist, I turned a paperweight onto her desk into a gerbil.  
  
"Daystar, transfiguration is an exact science. It must be done with finesse." He stood over the gerbil, turned a ring, muttered some words, and the gerbil changed into a tiny fountain.  
  
Professor McGonagall, meanwhile, pulled out her wand, said a word, and changed the fountain into a paperweight again. "That is how it is done."  
  
"Fascinating," Telemain whispered.  
  
Professor McGonagall looked at Morwen. "I know that face. Yes. I saw that face in a mirror years ago." Morwen blushed a little, probably didn't want to see how she looked like old, but they became friends right off.  
  
Then Dumbledore lead us down to the dungeons. I felt a little on edge as we were heading down, and even as we went in. "Severus Snape, Professor of Potions." Professor Snape really creeped me out. His handshake was cold, and he said little. There was only one person who was interested.  
  
"Amazing."  
  
"Telemain, what is it?" Mendanbar asked.  
  
"What is it? It's the potion! It has been so long since I've seen the beauty of the cauldron softly simmering over shimmering fumes, powerful, delicate liquids, creeping through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses."  
  
"Exact reason why they give me the willies," Father whispered to me.  
  
"And then there's the concoction itself. Judging from the viscosity of the mixture and the precise pH balance, the potion is a very potent barrier for redirecting a matrix in a backward motion."  
  
"Indeed it is," Professor Snape said. "This is my latest endeavor, and I have nearly perfected it. I just need to modulate the calibrations of the time frequency. I was considering adding half a milligram of boiled boomslang. Do you think that would do the trick?"  
  
"No, boomslang would only add unnecessary oil. I would recommend one crushed fireflower."  
  
"Fireflower. Intriguing, I had not considered that."  
  
I couldn't believe it. Father had a knack of translating Telemain's rants into plain English, but I have never, never, never heard anyone speak the same gibberish. I didn't realize I was gawking until Morwen silently rebuked me. Telemain was impressed as well.  
  
"It has been a long time since I have met a colleague such as yourself. Are you a magician as well, Severus?"  
  
"Absolutely not! I am a wizard."  
  
"Well, I have never met a wizard quite as intellectual as you. We must discuss your methodology soon."  
  
"I would be honored." As Professor Snape turned back to the group, he glimpsed Morwen for the first time. "And who might this be?"  
  
"Morwen," Telemain answered. He was probably about to say their relation, but Professor Snape had already taken her hand.  
  
"Charmed," he said darkly. He kissed her hand gentlemanly, but Morwen shuddered.  
  
"Thank you, but I am happily married to the man right behind you."  
  
"Oh, oh!" He turned back to Telemain. "You have impeccable taste."  
  
I was glad to get out of there. I thought Professor Snape was spooky. Professor Dumbledore took us outside to introduce us to Hagrid. He immediately recognized the Enchanted Forest as a domain with many wonderful animals and just on the edge of the Dragon Kingdom in the Mountains of Morning. Then he showed us the Quidditch field.  
  
"I told you it was Quidditch!" I told Father.  
  
"Well 'kidditch' sounds better I think."  
  
"What is Quidditch? And if it's a French dessert, may I please have the recipe?" Morwen asked.  
  
"It's not a dessert. It's a sport played on flying brooms."  
  
"Ooh, who would've thought? Wish I had my broomstick. I bet I could fly through all those hoops." Telemain, meanwhile, seemed to be turning green only thinking about it.  
  
"Well, I would give you more details, but your time is about up," Daystar answered. "Your majesty, do you have any last things to say to your guests before they go?"  
  
"Yes. We're going to call on you again tomorrow. Bring the sword."  
  
Morwen didn't like that. "Are you sure? You know what happens when someone outside the royal family holds that sword."  
  
"Go to bed with oven mitts if you have to. I would ask Cimorene to bring it, but I don't want her to get hurt. Telemain, you remember that spell we talked about that would trick the sword into thinking it was in the forest and vice versa?"  
  
"Yes, the enchanted matrix."  
  
"Try to set that up by yourself tomorrow."  
  
"But it will take weeks--"  
  
"By tomorrow! I order you, Telemain, as your king!"  
  
"Yes, your majesty."  
  
Father has never done that before. He must have been anxious to get back home.  
  
We spent the next day gathering the finest of the faculty we met and discussing what we would possibly do to make the spell work. Telemain and Morwen showed up the next day with the sword. We got together in the Great Hall with Professors Dumbledore, Vector, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Snape. Father placed the sword in the middle of us, as we sat in a circle. We took turns shooting spells at it, arguing what would work, until we finally had something. Father tested it with an apple, and it worked beautifully.  
  
"Well, son, are you ready to go back home?"  
  
"Father, Dad, I was thinking, you know that conversation we had before all this happened? Well, this would probably be the ideal place for me to learn magic. Perhaps I should apply."  
  
"You sure about that? I mean, this is a completely different world, and they do magic in different ways."  
  
"Grandfather learned somehow, and look where he is. I think it would be awesome to see magic in a completely different perspective."  
  
"Along that line," Morwen said speaking up, "I would be interested in taking up that open position. Teaching magic has always been my secret, lifelong dream."  
  
"I wouldn't advise that, headmaster," Professor Snape said speaking up. "We don't know about Miss Morwen's qualifications, if she has any at all. I would suggest you would appoint someone who is certainly qualified for the job."  
  
"Severus," Professor Dumbledore answered, "I tell again what I tell you every year. If you taught Defense Against the Dark Arts, who would teach Potions?"  
  
"I would." Telemain raised his hand up, almost bashfully.  
  
"Yes, but what would your wife teach?"  
  
"That is a dilemma. Professor, do you have a course discussing how magic works? I just wrote a book about it, and if I could share it with the young people--"  
  
"We do not have such a course, but I could easily make one. Well, I am very pleased to have three new additions to the Hogwarts family, but there are some things we need to discuss first. To my office please."  
  
Professor Snape looked very angry with all of us, but he didn't say a word. Morwen, Telemain, and I followed Professor Dumbledore to his splendid office.  
  
"Have a seat, all of you. Now, I mentioned this a couple of times before, but I haven't discussed it in detail. Last spring, an evil wizard arose after being out of commission for several years, a wizard named Voldemort."  
  
Morwen and I couldn't stop ourselves. We burst out laughing. "What kind of name is that for such an evil wizard? It's ridiculous!"  
  
Professor Dumbledore silenced us with a wave of his hand. "Believe it or not, most people in our world as so frightened of him, they refuse to say his name aloud. I find it refreshing that you find the name amusing, but you best keep silent about it. In order to understand, I need to explain to you about one of our most exceptional students."  
  
From there, he spoke to us about you, Harry, actually about all three of you, and all that you have done in the past few years. "Now that Voldemort has arisen again, I am concerned that Harry will be his primary target. Several say that I am the only person Voldemort is frightened of, but they flatter me. No one can do magic like your grandfather. Voldemort attacked all the continents, except Antarctica (because no wizards live there) and Australia. He wouldn't go near there with your grandfather as minister. If you could do magic like him, you can keep Voldemort in check.  
  
"All of you are applying to me under strange circumstances. We never had teachers outside our world before. We never had a teacher who is willing to learn as much as he is willing to teach. It's been years we started a new program on account of a new teacher. And normally, our students are not older than age 17. But I will admit all of you on one condition. Promise me you will protect not only young Harry but also this entire school by any means necessary."  
  
"Absolutely," I answered.  
  
"Indubitably," Telemain nodded.  
  
"Yes, of course," Morwen replied.  
  
"Excellent," Professor Dumbledore said clapping his hands. "Now, just a few more things need to be set up, and you'll be good to go."  
  
Father and I stayed a little longer to mark the spell in several spots on the Hogwarts campus, in Hogsmead, and in Diagon Alley. That way we could open the portal there, and we could choose where to go from the Lake when we wanted to use it. "See you in a few weeks, Daystar. I'll send my phoenix soon with a list of your supplies."  
  
"Um, how would--"  
  
"Magic animals are mysterious. They can go through dreamensions easily. Fawkes will find you."  
  
You saw how the spell worked. It felt like flying through a hollow tube of wind. Next thing we knew, we were standing on the Lake of Weeping Dreamer's surface. The Forest seemed confused to find us alive, but everything went into a shout of joy. In the coming weeks, the three of us got ready for school, and here we are.  
  
"So you see, I'm not just here to baby-sit you. I'm here to learn like everyone else. But Professor Dumbledore made me promise that I would protect you and the school, and that's what I intend to do. I do admire you for all you have done, and you are a remarkable person. I am glad to call all three of you friends, and I hope you can say the same.  
  
"That's it. Sorry if I rambled, but I warned you it was long."  
  
"That's fine," Hermione said. "I enjoyed it."  
  
"Brilliant!" Harry whispered.  
  
"Remarkable," Ron nodded. "Goodness! We only have thirty minutes to eat! Let's go!"  
  
Daystar quickly undid his enchantments as they were leaving. Harry turned to him. "Uh, Daystar, there is one person I have to tell about this, but don't worry about the secret getting out. He's in hiding."  
  
"Who is that?"  
  
"My godfather. He wants me to keep him posted about what goes on in school. Did Dumbledore tell you about him?"  
  
"Very little. You can tell me that long story tonight if you'd like."  
  
"Harry!" Hermione called. "If you're going to owl Snuffles, could I please use Hedwig?"  
  
"What for?"  
  
"Uh, I thought of something at home that will be helpful for something. It's pretty heavy, though, but I know Hedwig could carry it."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Harry was glad he knew the full story, though it was confusing. He didn't understand everything, but he knew this year was going to be very different. 


	5. In Which Pets Speak

Chapter 5: In Which Pets Speak  
  
The rest of the day was relatively uneventful. Daystar and Hermione went onto their first honors class, and Ron and Harry ventured to Divination. This time, Professor Trelawney was showing them the art of Tarot cards. This was a little easier than anything else Harry had attempted in Divination was, since every card and each of their meanings were listed in "Unfogging the Future." There was only one card that stood for death. What chance would there be that Professor Trelawney would chose that one? As Harry drew his cards to tell Ron his predictions, he wrapped his hair in a towel and spoke in a Jamaican accent. Ron cracked up, though he apparently wasn't really sure about the joke. Believe it or not, Professor Trelawney found a way to once again predict Harry's death--yet this time, there was a twist.  
  
"But wait, dear! Look at this one! You may have a chance after all!"  
  
"I do?"  
  
"Yes. A protector is with you. Trust your friends, dear. They shall be your salvation."  
  
Harry still pondered the prediction as he wrote his letter to Sirius. Hermione was ready with her request and followed Harry to the Owlery.  
  
"Now, you make sure you come back as soon as you can," Harry told Hedwig as Hermione tied her message to the owl's leg. "I need you back by Thursday."  
  
Hedwig hooted and soared off.  
  
"What do you need Hedwig so soon for?"  
  
"We got to bring our pets to DADA, remember?"  
  
"Oh yeah. Oh! With all that excitement in Potions, we forgot to ask Snape for those extra ingredients!"  
  
"We got him in a few days. We'll ask him then. I hope he will be helpful as Morwen suggested."  
  
At supper, the four of them ran into Neville. "Hey, Neville," Ron greeted. "How's Morwen's spell working?"  
  
"It's amazing!" Neville told him. "I only glanced at the list, but I can quote it verbatim." He proceeded to do so.  
  
"Excellent! Just don't forget Trevor."  
  
"Oh yeah, Trevor, the most important thing! I won't forget him now."  
  
"Hi Harry!" A gentle hand rested on his shoulder. Harry turned to see--  
  
"Alicia! Daystar, this is Alicia Spinnet, one of our Chasers."  
  
"Pleased to meet you," Daystar said shaking her hand.  
  
"Yes. Harry, I just wanted to remind you that Quidditch practice will be tomorrow evening."  
  
"OK. Who's our new captain?"  
  
Alicia smiled bashfully. "That would be me."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah. Madame Hooch talked it over with me. I don't have much longer, and I thought it would be cool to lead the team in my final years."  
  
"Well, congratulations! Who's our new Keeper? And aren't we lacking another Chaser?"  
  
"I'll have it all worked out, Harry. Just come tomorrow night, and bring your Firebolt."  
  
"Will do. Thanks." He turned to the others as she left. "I'm glad Quidditch is back. Missed it last year."  
  
Transfiguration was first the next day. It really wasn't Transfiguration as much as it was discussion on the nature of their upcoming O.W.L.s.  
  
"I have to take a test that big?" Daystar was asking the others at the end of class. "Maybe it wasn't a smart choice to be so advanced in years."  
  
"I bet Dumbledore did that on purpose," Hermione told him. "He wants to show your father that you reached your full potential, and what better way than an exam to show your true credentials."  
  
"Maybe so. Morning, Mr. Filch!" Daystar nodded and smiled at the caretaker as they passed him. He gave Daystar a shady look, growled, and walked away. "He was like that when I was here earlier," Daystar told the others quietly. "Does he ever talk?"  
  
"On occasion, but you don't want to stick around for what he says," Ron answered. "It's usually 'detention.'"  
  
At Herbology, right after Professor Sprout called roll, Neville raised his hand. "Neville, the lesson hasn't started yet. What do you possible need to ask?"  
  
"Please Professor, we need hibiscus flowers and rose nectar for DADA in a couple of days." The Gryffindors marveled that Neville of all people would remember exactly what to ask for. As Harry heard them mumble, most of them had already forgotten.  
  
"Oh yes, for Morwen's thing. I'll make sure to gather them at the end of class." From there, she began the lesson, but at one minute till the bell, Neville raised his hand again. "Oh yes, Neville. I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank you for reminding me. Now, what did I need again?"  
  
The day went by quickly until Quidditch practice. Alicia started by introducing the new players, who were both sixth years that Harry didn't know.  
  
"Samson here is our new Keeper. He was a wrestling captain at a muggle summer camp. He's sure to be a brick wall in front of our goals."  
  
Samson answered by throwing a few imaginary punches in the air. All the rest of the players greeted him. Harry was worried for a while, though, that Samson broke a couple of his fingers in a handshake.  
  
"OK," Alicia said. "I'm not going to be quite the slave driver like Oliver was, but I will take practice time about as seriously. We will practice at least twice a week, three times if we can swing it. I'll try to be mindful of weather conditions and homework. I have faith in all of you, but we got a hard match starting off the season with Ravenclaw."  
  
"Ravenclaw?!?" the team said in unison.  
  
"We're not playing Slytherin first?" Fred asked.  
  
"From what I understand, Dumbledore requested that either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff play first this year, to show You-Know-Who if he's watching that he hasn't won, and we're moving on with life. Hufflepuff would have accepted, but I hear they're having a hard time trying to replace Cedric Diggory. I don't blame them."  
  
The whole team went somber as they thought of Cedric's untimely death last year. Then Harry turned his thoughts back to the game. This was certainly going to be a challenge. He won every game against Slytherin, but Ravenclaw came pretty close last time. Cho Chang had a way of tailing him as he searched for the Snitch, and her prettiness nearly got the better of him. Harry, luckily, had been preparing mentally. Hermione gave him a book called "World Famous Seekers." Harry read their stats closely, but he mainly paid attention to their strategic moves that he watched in the moving pictures. He was sure some of them could confuse Cho but hopefully not hurt her like the Wronski Feint certainly would. Hopefully, he could start putting them into practice tonight.  
  
"Anyway, we have a big game ahead of us. Are we up for the challenge?"  
  
"Yes!" the whole team answered.  
  
"I said, are we up for the challenge?"  
  
"YES!"  
  
"I can't hear you! Are we up for it?"  
  
"YEEEEEEEES!!!!!!!"  
  
"That's what I want to hear. Now, let's go!"  
  
From there, Alicia cheered and encouraged the team through practice. She didn't give a lot of suggestions for better practice, but Harry was able to do each of the moves he had studied. Some of them made him quite dizzy. "It'll get better with practice, Harry," Alicia called.  
  
So Quidditch wasn't quite what Harry expected. He turned his attention to Hedwig's return. Usually, Hedwig was rather speedy, but Harry wasn't sure how far Hermione's house was. If Hedwig wasn't there by Thursday morning, he didn't know what he would do.  
  
Thursday morning arrived, and still no Hedwig. Harry looked anxiously up at the ceiling. "Come on . . . come on . . . yes!"  
  
Hedwig came soaring down from the rafters with a huge package in her talons. She dropped it in front of Hermione and landed before her master.  
  
"Hedwig, I knew you wouldn't let me down," Harry said stroking the owl's soft feathers.  
  
"What's in the package?" Ron said.  
  
"Books," Hermione answered opening it up. The package contained three books with no titles or pictures. "They're rather personal, so don't ask about them."  
  
Harry offered some of his boiled egg to his owl. "Got a treat for you, girl. You're coming to class with me." Hedwig hooted questioningly. "That's right. You're coming with me to Defense Against the Dark Arts."  
  
"Only downside is that we have it with the Slytherins," Ron muttered.  
  
"Well, you all have fun," Daystar told them.  
  
"You're not coming?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Nope. I already know the spell, so Morwen excused me. I'm thinking of doing a little exploring. See ya!" He waved and walked off.  
  
"What do you think this potion will do?" Ron asked again.  
  
"I tried studying the properties of the ingredients in 'The Magic Behind Magic,'" Hermione answered. "Whatever it is, it's strong."  
  
"Maybe it's a potion that might be too dangerous for humans and she wants to test it on our pets," Seamus said as he walked passed them. "Hope it's not too dangerous. Don't want anything to happen to Jackie here," he said holding up a white mouse.  
  
"Well, I heard it's a nice recipe for Cat Pudding," Draco sneered in Hermione's ear. "And I, for one, can't wait to have some."  
  
Hermione gasped as she heard this, but she didn't pay attention. The DADA room was full of students and pets of all kinds. It looked like everybody had not just cats and owls, but toads, rabbits, tarantulas, even a couple of snakes. "I thought only owls, cats, and toads were allowed," Ron said.  
  
"You had a rat, remember?" Hermione answered. "According to 'Hogwarts: A History,' the animals listed in the introductory letter are merely suggestions. Students can bring any famil--um, I mean magical helper that they want."  
  
"Good morning, class!" Morwen greeted. Everyone looked at her intently as she began to explain this important lesson. "It has been my experience that the greatest defense of the dark arts is your own magic helper. Some call it a familiar, but most witches and wizards refrain from using that term now-a-days because of several reasons, but I personally think it's a rather apropos term. The greatest witches and wizards are very familiar with their 'familiar.' That's what I'm going to teach you today."  
  
There was a small pause, and Morwen smiled. "Today, I'm going to get you on speaking terms with your pet.  
  
The students gasped, cheered, and flat stared. "But no wizards except for Parselmouths know how to talk to animals," Neville whispered in awe.  
  
"You don't know Morwen," Harry whispered back.  
  
"Everyone, turn your ingredients sheet over," Morwen instructed. "Tap it with your wand and say 'Revealintas!' That will show you the instructions."  
  
Everybody did so. Before long, the students were boiling unicorn water, mixing together peppermint salve; rose nectar; and hippopotamus oil, and crushing hibiscus flowers. Together, the potion looked thick, sticky, and purple, like grape jelly  
  
"While the potion is simmering, I need everyone to scoot your desks out of the way. I would ask you to magic them away, but no teacher have offered an empty room to put them. That's it, leave good space on the floor. All right, is everyone ready? Good. Now, with the tip of your wand, all of you dip it into the potion and draw a large circle on the floor, big enough for you and you pet to sit in. Very good. Don't smudge the lines. Now, don't waste the entire potion on the circle.  
  
"OK, now sit in the middle of the circle with your pet. Those of you with big pets like cats or rabbits, take it's right front paw into your right hand. Those with snakes, hold its head in your right hand. Those with small pets, like spiders, owls, rats, and mice, hold the entire body in your right hand. Now, with your wand, put a drop of the potion on your pet's tongue and in both of your ears. Don't poke your eardrum! OK, with the rest of your potion anoint five drops on your head and five drops on your pet's head; that marks the spell.  
  
"This is the important part. You must concentrate. Clear your mind of frivolous thoughts. Your pet must do the same. It might help to close your eyes."  
  
Harry concentrated as much as he could. He stared into Hedwig's huge, dark, almost hypnotizing eyes.  
  
"Now, repeat after me:  
  
"Wind for Clarity Fire for Sincerity  
  
Earth for Comprehension  
  
Water for Permanence  
  
Make known to me thy tongue!"  
  
Everyone repeated every line after her. There was a cold, rushing wind. Harry looked to see the potion on the floor raised above each person and animal as a shield. The drops absorbed into Harry's skin making him shiver and wince.  
  
"Man, that was cold," a feminine voice said quietly.  
  
"You said it Hermione," Harry muttered.  
  
"I mean I flew over the Alps to reach your godfather last time, and this was much colder. Never do it again."  
  
Harry's eyes grew wide. "Hedwig, did you say that?"  
  
"Of course! What did you think?"  
  
"Hedwig, we're talking!"  
  
"Well yes, of course we are!"  
  
"What? Haven't you had a conversation with a human before?"  
  
"Well, now that you mentioned it, our conversations have been rather one- sided."  
  
Everybody began chatting with their pets, and made new friends. Hermione looked like she was having a rather intellectual conversation with Crookshanks. "Hey look! I'm a Parselmouth!" a Slytherin with a snake said with glee. Pigwidgeon was much more excited about talking to her master than Hedwig was. She was flying all around Ron's head, hooting her head off. Ron was clearly sick of it.  
  
Harry raised her hand, "Morwen, why can I understand Hedwig perfectly but I have no clue what Pigwidgeon over there is telling Ron? Don't owls speak the same language?"  
  
"Good question Harry. Class, you can only understand your pet because that's how the spell works. You can understand your pet's children by default. I'm still working on a universal spell, but I've got a long way to go.  
  
"Now, all of you get to know your pets, and treat them well. Don't leave them just cooped up in the Owlery or kennel or wherever they normally go. Keep them with you in your dorm. If you teacher allows it, take them with you to class. At least, teach your magic helpers what you are learning. This is your homework for the whole year. We're going to learn lots of spells that require magic helper's assistance, and they will probably come in handy in your other subjects, too.  
  
"That's all. Class dismissed!"  
  
Everyone was still delighted and amazed that the animals were talking. Morwen's assignment was getting off to a good start already. As Harry walked out, he heard a boy tell somebody, "I had it all wrong all this time! Jimmy's a girl! I hear it in her voice! I oughta rename her Jimina."  
  
"What is Pigwidgeon saying to you anyway, Ron?" Harry asked.  
  
"I can't really tell. She speaks so fast, it just sounds like a bunch of syllables. This assignment is going to be tough on me." Pigwidgeon kept hooting even as he was talking, until Ron turned to her and shouted, "Quiet, Pig! I don't care!"  
  
"Who snuck coffee into your food lately?" Hedwig asked the owl, annoyed.  
  
"Come on," Harry told them. "Time for Care of Magical Creatures."  
  
This time, Hagrid had in his pin a real griffin. It seemed like an interesting animal. It was easily tamed if the master could answer its first riddle and satisfied if the master tells it a new one each day. So each student had a turn to approach the griffin and tell it a challenging riddle. They had to think of more for homework.  
  
Afterwards was lunch, then Charms, then as Ron and Harry went to get started on their homework, Daystar and Hermione went to Magic Theory. Harry had Quidditch practice after he was done, so the four of them didn't come together again until supper.  
  
"I wish everybody could take this course," Hermione said excitedly. "They should've required it a long time ago."  
  
"We do have a book on Magic Theory," Ron noted. "I think we had it for Charms."  
  
"Yes, but we never went through it in detail, did we? Besides, I read it cover to cover years ago, and it didn't tell me anything."  
  
"Anything about what?" Harry asked.  
  
"About how magic works! All this time I spend in the library, sure I like reading about magic, it's enjoyable. But I wanted more than anything to know how and why it works, why we are different from muggles. And none of the books could really give me a straight answer."  
  
"It's because no one really knows, Hermione!" Ron said a little put out.  
  
"But Telemain knows! And we're going to go through it in detail in the upcoming weeks. And that's not all we're doing. Throughout the year, we're going to be working on making our own spell!"  
  
Harry dropped his fork. "You can do that?"  
  
"Telemain says we can! It's our project! We're going to brainstorm in the last fifteen minutes of class what spells we could make, or maybe a spell that could use some improvement. Then we're going to evaluate our choices to see what our major concern is. Next, we're going to brainstorm possible ways to do the spell. Then we're going to evaluate those solutions by what will be easiest to do, easiest to prepare, most efficient, time effective, and so on. Finally, we'll pick the best one and we're going to make it! It'll be great to contribute to the magical community, and getting there will be half the fun!"  
  
Ron leaned over to Harry and whispered, "I think I'd rather not and write that I did."  
  
Hermione glared at him.  
  
"Yeah," Daystar said after he cleared his mouth. "I was surprised Telemain would come up with such a method. Very clever, even for him."  
  
Harry somehow had a feeling he would be hearing much more of this course as the year went on.  
  
Back at the common room, Ron was listening to Pigwidgeon continued yaking. "Can't you talk any slower?" he muttered. Pigwidgeon paused, then went at exactly the same pace as before.  
  
"You know, I was thinking, what if Morwen came a couple of years earlier, and you learned how to talk to Scabbers?" Harry suggested.  
  
"That would have been strange," Ron nodded. "I might have jumped if I heard Peter Pettigrew's voice coming out of my pet's mouth. Then again, I reckon I wouldn't know how Peter Pettigrew sounded like. I guess he would have tried to lead me deeper to the dark side, convince me even more that Sirius Black was evil, maybe even got me to join You-Know-Who. Maybe compared to that, Pig sounds like Shakespeare."  
  
Harry wondered how a wizard would know about Shakespeare, but before he could ask, Daystar questioned about what they spoke. Harry and Ron together quietly explained their whole ordeal from a few years ago with the marauders. Daystar nodded and understood.  
  
Hermione, meanwhile, was in a chair reading one of her personal books. Suddenly she looked up and said, "Daystar! Come look at this!"  
  
"Sure, Hermes," Daystar answered grinning.  
  
Ron and Harry tried to crowd around her chair as well, but she looked darkly at them. "Not you! Daystar!" She pointed to stuff in her book and talked quietly.  
  
"We might as well get up to bed," Harry suggested.  
  
"What's her deal? Does she fancy him or something?" Ron growled.  
  
"Don't be ridiculous. He's a prince. He's probably betrothed, or he'll have to marry only a princess anyway. She would know that."  
  
"Then what's with all the secrecy?"  
  
"I don't know. It's weird, all right."  
  
Harry started getting into bed when he heard a horrible noise. He looked out and saw Peeves and Genie sitting on the wall outside. The kitten was yowling, and Peeves was singing along awfully off key. Harry didn't know how he did it, but midst this noise he was able to fall asleep. 


	6. In Which a Quidditch Match Leads to Disa...

Chapter 6: In Which a Quidditch Match Leads to Disaster  
  
Harry and Ron heard even more about Magic Theory from Hermione in the coming weeks. The next week she was talking to them about the biological reasons why wizards were different. "It was so amazing! It's just the way the Force was described in Star Wars Episode I."  
  
To Hermione's surprise, both her friends looked at her in confusion. "Come on, surely you are familiar with the Star Wars movies. It was a great achievement, even outside the wizard world!"  
  
"I've seen bits of them on television," Harry answered. "They look brilliant, but the Durseleys won't even let Dudley see them. Said they'll fill his mind with ridiculous notions about space. Tight minded, they are you know."  
  
"Moo-vee?" Ron asked.  
  
"Muggle entertainment," Hermione answered. "Like television shows, only hours longer. You really should see Star Wars, both of you. My parents love it. It's a muggle's interpretation of wizards in space, and they hit it right on the nose." She then went into a technical description, which Harry didn't understand a word of.  
  
But it didn't stop there. Hermione analyzed every spell they studied from then on. She almost took the fun out of their first Hogsmead visit by surveying every magical object in Zonko's, trying to discover what made them tick. She wanted every single detail, ever so often asking for Daystar's input about her reasoning. Daystar kept warning her that she was sounding more and more like Telemain, but Hermione didn't seem to mind.  
  
Sirius seemed quite impressed with Daystar. He didn't know too much about his grandfather, but what he had heard was good. He told Harry that he felt the boy was in good hands with Daystar.  
  
Lessons were certain more interesting. Most teachers would allow the students to bring their pets in, except for Professor Binns (who said they were too much of a distraction) and Snape. Morwen's kittens were enough for him to stand. Yet, every lesson in Potions now had some kind of argument between Daystar and Snape. It was always interesting to watch. Daystar always seemed cool, but Snape nearly went blue in the face every time, trying to make the prince crack. Daystar liked playing Snape's game by continually calling their argumentative moments "a round of devil's advocate."  
  
Harry kept trying to talk to Hedwig, but she wouldn't say much. Harry wasn't sure she liked being on speaking terms with him. Pigwidgeon still wouldn't stop talking, and Ron wasn't any closer to deciphering her conversations. It seemed like they weren't the only ones having trouble with familiar communication. Harry noticed once at breakfast that Goyle was having problems with Wachoo. Wachoo was still leaping all over the place, yowling at the top of his lungs, and now that Goyle could understand him it seemed to him the kitten was making a big deal out of nothing.  
  
"Make him shut up," Draco growled.  
  
Goyle picked the cat up by the scruff of its neck and shouted, "If Draco and I told you once, we told you a thousand times. There is no such thing as your stupid Society of Wizards!"  
  
Daystar choked on his orange juice. Everybody else in the hall burst out laughing, but Daystar looked horrified. He walked over to the Slytherin table and politely asked to talk to the cat for a little while. Draco looked intimidated and didn't say a word. Still, he wouldn't take his eyes off Daystar until he went into a private room and talked to the kitten. What they discussed, Harry never knew, but Wachoo seemed somewhat calmer after that. Draco still asserted that the kitten was mental, though.  
  
Morwen's lessons grew more helpful as they were interesting. She taught the class her sleeve spell next, which took two class periods to cover. Harry liked not having to fumble inside his robes for his wand. Now he could just reach into his sleeve and retrieve it, and he could never tell it was in there when he carried it. He knew that would be an ideal place for the Marauder's Map if he had to use it again, or to carry treats from Honeydukes and Zonko's. He just needed to make sure he didn't take too much, or the spell wouldn't work quite as well. She also showed several magical instruments to carry along in case of emergency, like a bundle that always filled with food, or a lamp that would only light the path one needs to take.  
  
Alicia's methods of coaching Quidditch remained simply over-encouragement. Still, Harry's moves were improving. After a few weeks, he didn't feel quite as nauseous or disoriented when practice was over. It wouldn't be long until--  
  
"The first Quidditch match is this afternoon," Hermione announced to Daystar at breakfast.  
  
"Ah, 'How beautiful are the feet which bring good news!'" Daystar knelt down to Hermione's feet. "Your ankles have wings, don't they Hermes?"  
  
Hermione just playfully hit him on the head. "Cut that out!"  
  
Harry ate his breakfast quickly, anxious to get out on the Quidditch field. Before he left to get his scarlet robes on, Daystar gave him a pat on the back. "Good luck, Harry." As Harry moved on, Daystar shouted, "GO GRYFFINDOR!!!!! WHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Everybody looked at him odd. Daystar promptly stopped. "I guess it's a British thing."  
  
Ron, Hermione, and Daystar took their places in the Gryffindor stands. To most of Gryffindor's surprise, two teachers joined them.  
  
"Hi Morwen, Telemain," Daystar nodded.  
  
"Afternoon, Daystar," Morwen smiled.  
  
"Salutations, Hermione," Telemain said shaking her hand. Then turning to Ron, he said, "I beg your pardon, but I do not believe I have made your acquaintance. I am Telemain, Professor of Magic Theory in the Honors Curriculum."  
  
"Ron Weasley," Ron answered. "Hermione talks loads about your class. Wish I could take it."  
  
"Well, if Magic Theory interests you, I will be pleased to enlighten you privately."  
  
"I might take you up on that," Ron nodded, lying through his teeth.  
  
"So, tell us more about Quidditch," Morwen inquired. "I've only heard scanty details."  
  
"Well, there are three Chasers, two Beaters, a Keeper, and a Seeker," Ron explained. "The Chasers' job is to throw a red ball called a Quaffle through one of those hoops on the opposing team. They earn ten points every time they make it. The Keeper's job is to guard the hoops."  
  
"Then there are two black balls called Bludgers that try to knock the players off their brooms. The Beaters' job is to keep them away from their team and hit them toward the opposing team," Hermione continued. "Finally, the Seeker's job is to find the Golden Snitch, a tiny, flying ball that's hard to see. When the Seeker catches it, the game ends, and the Seeker's team is awarded a hundred fifty points."  
  
"I see," Daystar nodded. "I think I got it. The object of the game is to catch the Snitch!"  
  
"Well, not really," Ron tried to explain.  
  
"Well, it ends the game, doesn't it? And it earns the most point, doesn't it? The team that catches the Snitch wins!"  
  
Ron and Hermione looked at each other. They saw a professional game last summer, and the opposite was true. At the Quidditch World Cup, Viktor Krum caught the Snitch, but his team lost by ten points. Ireland, the opposing team, made too many Quaffle goals. They tried to tell Daystar about this, but he was already talking to Morwen and Telemain.  
  
"Listen, Seeker is Harry's position. Just watch him. The rest of the game won't matter."  
  
"I do not believe I shall be able to attend this entire event," Telemain said solemnly. "The mere thought of observing the aerial contraptions engaged in such a complex function is enough to make my stomach regurgitate at the memento of such unpalatable experiences."  
  
"What's he saying?" Ron muttered.  
  
"He probably won't be able to watch the entire game because it will surely make him sick," Morwen answered. "Don't be ridiculous, dear! These students know what they're doing, and they enjoy it."  
  
"The entire prospect sound horrid," Telemain growled. "I can not believe that someone thought of this."  
  
"You must excuse him," Morwen whispered. "Telemain is somewhat uncomfortable with flying broomsticks."  
  
Meanwhile, Alicia started with a pep talk, like Oliver used to do. First, she called the whole team into a huddle. "Oliver always said we are the best team in all the school. After all I have seen these past few weeks, I have no reason to doubt him. We are the greatest! We can beat Ravenclaw! Don't forget, we're not just playing for the Quidditch Cup, we're playing for Cedric, bless his soul! We're playing for the honor of our school! We're playing against You-Know-Who! We'll show him who's boss! We'll show him you don't mess with Hogwarts!"  
  
Harry wasn't sure he liked this pep talk. He didn't necessarily want this season to be constantly linked to Cedric's death. That would be too morbid.  
  
"OK everyone, put your hands into the center of the circle. That's it. Now, one, two, three, GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GRYFFINDOOOOOOOOOOOR!" Nobody really knew she would break into that, so the team's cue was a little off and less enthusiastic. "Let's do this!"  
  
About this time, Harry heard Lee Jordan's voice magnified through the stadium. "Welcome to the first Quidditch game of the season: Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw! Please make welcome the Gryffindor team!" The team took the field as Lee announced their names. Harry looked up in the stands to see his friends cheering him on as before. Ravenclaw came onto the field. Harry's stomach did that familiar lurch as he saw Cho Chang. She smiled at him, but it seemed a little forced. Surely she didn't think--  
  
"Before we begin the game, Professor Dumbledore has a special announcement."  
  
Harry looked up into the teacher's stands. This was new. Dumbledore stood before the voice magnifier and looked straight at Harry. "Players, students, faculty, distinguished guests, it gives me great joy to declare this year's Quidditch season open. I am proud of all of you for wanting to continue this tradition in the face of adversity. However, I think it is only appropriate to think of the tragedy of last year. Let us take a moment to remember Cedric Diggory, former Hufflepuff Quidditch Seeker and Captain, Prefect, Triwizard Champion, and friend to many. Before the game, let us pause for a minute of silence."  
  
All players on both Quidditch teams bowed their heads. Harry remembered the horrible moment when he saw his friend die, so suddenly right before his eyes. Harry only liked him a little. They seemed to be rivals at everything, in Quidditch, in the tournament, in their relationships. Harry looked at Cho again to see she had burst into tears. As she wiped the tears from her eyes, she looked at Harry again--and glared. Harry's heart sank. She did blame him partially for Cedric's death. And how he had hoped he would have been able to get to know her better now, to comfort her.  
  
"Thank you," Dumbledore finally announced. "Now, let the game begin!"  
  
"Davies, Spinnet, shake hands," Hooch ordered. The captains did so.  
  
"Hey Cho!" Harry mustered the courage to whisper. When she look up, that courage immediately oozed out. He somehow managed to mouth, "Good luck." She flashed him a mischievous grin.  
  
"All players, mount your brooms! Kick off on my whistle. Three, two, one-- "  
  
"Tweeeeeeeeeet!"  
  
The brooms soared into the air, and the balls were released. Harry flew out to a safe distance. First, he'll use all his maneuvers to get Cho off his back. Then he'll look for the Snitch. He did his moves as strategically as he could. He tried them all: the corkscrew, the pendulum, and the mix-matcher to name a few. Many of the students were confused as to what he was doing.  
  
"Harry seems to have gone off the deep end. He's doing complex moves only professionals attempt, and he's evidently not paying attention to the game," Lee commented.  
  
"You're doing a commentary of this match, Jordan, not a review!" Professor McGonagall barked.  
  
"But this is serious, Professor. See, there's a Bludger heading right for him, and he doesn't seem to care!"  
  
At the word "Bludger," Harry first noticed a black ball heading right toward his face. Luckily, George hit it out of the way before it could hit Harry. Harry nodded in thanks and flew on. The Weasley brothers flew pretty close to him from there on, probably remembering last time Harry had trouble with Bludgers.  
  
Harry observed from the right side of the field. Cho looked sufficiently addled, and the teams were tied ten to ten. It was time to look for the Snitch.  
  
As Harry surveyed the field, he saw Fred and George over his shoulder. They sneezed simultaneously and wiped their noses in unison. Harry chucked at their "twinness" showing through, but then it got more serious. They would not stop sneezing. Of course, it wasn't in unison, and they seemed to be getting more severe. Harry promptly flew over to them.  
  
"You guys alright?"  
  
"We're--achoo!--fide," Fred answered.  
  
"It's judst--achoo!--the dadder--achoo!--in da schood--achoo!" George added.  
  
"Looks like the Weasleys are having are having a allergy attack," Lee commented. "Wait a minute, you guys never get allergy attacks! You're not allergic to anything!"  
  
"Personal comments later, Jordan!" Professor McGonagall warned.  
  
"Well, if you're sure you're ok," Harry said. He started trying to fly away, but his broom wouldn't go. He looked to see if someone had grabbed onto his broom, like Draco did once, but no one was around. Harry kept trying to kick, but the broom only went a few inches forward. Then, it started to lose control. It started to droop. Harry pulled it up quickly to keep from falling. He saw that Fred and George were having the same problems, added with the discomfort of never-ending sneezing.  
  
And then, Harry felt it again. The invisible rope pulling out of his soul, the singeing pain in his scar. This time, it was even worse. Harry felt weak and disoriented. What could be doing this? He squinted down into the field below. He saw a long, polished staff glowing fiercely and poking out from beneath the Hufflepuff stands, but who was holding it Harry couldn't tell. All he could see was a blur. Whatever it is, maybe his patronus could ward it off. Harry grabbed his wand.  
  
"Expecto patro--" Harry started to cry, but the silvery jet from his wand was drawn toward the staff. "Oh no!"  
  
As he spoke, the Golden Snick flew up to his ear, and as soon as it came, it began to drop like a rock. Harry abruptly caught the ball before it could fall.  
  
"HARRY POTTER'S GOT THE SNI--" Lee voice suddenly went dead. Harry could see him arguing with Professor McGonagall that he didn't break the modifier, and other teachers were tapping it with their wands.  
  
Wait, there was another charm. Morwen used it on the train. Then, it came to him like lightning.  
  
"Argelfraster!"  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
"Argelfraster!"  
  
Still nothing. The horrible pulling feeling was getting worse. Harry could see it was starting to affect the rest of the Quidditch players and many in the stands. To his horror, Ron was also going through a serious sneezing attack. Daystar was on the edge of the stands, searching the grounds.  
  
Harry knew this charm had to work. He kept swishing and flicking, screaming, "Argelfraster!" at the staff, all the while cradling the Snitch and trying to stay in the air. More and more, it seemed like a losing battle.  
  
"I can't see anything!" Daystar cried in frustration. "I don't see any wizards anywhere!"  
  
"Look--achoo!--behide--achoo!--youd," Ron answered.  
  
"Not what I meant."  
  
"What is going on?" Hermione asked Telemain, and he told her in all his magical technical talk.  
  
"I give up," Daystar cried throwing up his hands. To everyone's amazement, Daystar drew his sword.  
  
"What are doing?" Seamus cried.  
  
"Quickly, give me a spell!"  
  
"What spell?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Any spell! Just direct it toward the sword, please."  
  
"Alohomora!" Hermione chanted. Nothing opened, but somehow Daystar's sword glowed just a little brighter.  
  
"Lumos," Ron managed to say.  
  
"Riddikulus!" Neville tried.  
  
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Seamus tried.  
  
Nearly all the Gryffindors in the stands submitted a spell. Some other houses got the idea and directed spells toward the sword from across the way. Even some of the teachers chimed in. As they continued to add spells, Daystar muttered a draconian spell:  
  
"Power of fire, wind, and earth, Turn the spell back to its birth. Raise the spell to shield our skin, By the power that's within!"  
  
Then Daystar made a pushing motion around the hilt of his sword. A bright light issued from the blade and flooded the stadium.  
  
Harry felt a rush of relief. He still felt very weak, but at least he could land safely. As soon as he reached the ground, he toppled off his broom. Fred and George did the same. Everything was blurry.  
  
"Harry! Harry! Are you alright?" Before he understood what was happening, Cho was at Harry's side and actually holding his hand.  
  
Harry tried to reply, but all that came out was a groan. "How are you?" he finally muttered.  
  
"OK, I guess. How's the--" But then she saw it in his hand. She picked up the Snitch, which weakly ruffled its wings. "Oh, poor thing!" Harry managed to reach up and prod the Snitch with his wand, but it was no use. The Snitch drooped its wings and ceased to move. It was gone. 


	7. In Which Things Look Grim for Hogwarts

Chapter 7: In Which Things Look Grim for Hogwarts  
  
Within seconds, someone transported Harry to the Hospital Wing. Harry looked up at the ceiling, at the walls. How many times had he been here? It's embarrassing almost. He'd been injured so many times.  
  
Madame Pomfrey looked frantic. Harry could see her blurred form kneeling over him. She could tell what was wrong, but she didn't know what to do. She pulled out all her medical texts on the shelf so that they fell around her feet and flipped through the pages looking for some kind of cure.  
  
Then Harry saw Morwen burst in. "Trouble, you get Fred. Nimue, take George. Esther, get to Harry. You know what to do! Go!"  
  
A white Persian pounced onto Harry's chest. Her deep blue eyes stared into Harry's. "What's going on?" Harry mumbled.  
  
"Shh!" Morwen gasped. "Don't talk, Harry. This is Genie's mother. Just relax and let her do her spell. You're best bet to replenishing your magic is sleep."  
  
Esther purred and continued to stare at Harry. The world went more and more out of focus. In the distance, Harry could hear voices of his professors.  
  
"They'll be fine. They just need rest for a while."  
  
"Which is more than we can say for the Quidditch equipment. Look, the Golden Snitch is dead, and the Bludgers aren't, well, bludging anymore."  
  
"What can we do?"  
  
"We have two options. Owl for new ones or retransfigure the ones we have. Either way, it will take until at least March until we're functional again."  
  
"That won't be fair to the other houses. I'm afraid there's no hope for it. We'll need to cancel the rest of the Quidditch season."  
  
"What? Albus, after all you said today about going on with life in spite of You-Know-Who--"  
  
"This isn't Voldemort we're dealing with, Minerva. On the contrary, this could prove worse. This is the unknown."  
  
Harry slipped into a deep slumber before he could hear the rest of the conversation. Later, he woke when all the hospital wing was dark. Moonlight glowed upon his bed sheets. Esther was gone, and Harry was free to move around. He looked to see Fred and George sleeping across the room. Harry felt better now, still a little weak, but well rested and stronger. He never remembered falling asleep or dreaming. It took him a while to convince himself that he had been asleep. The sleep Esther put him under was deeper than that he experienced under a sleeping potion last year, and it left him better rested.  
  
"Harry!" a voice whispered.  
  
Harry jumped. Daystar had appeared at his bedside from out of nowhere.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, did I startle you?" Daystar whispered. "Dumbledore said I could use my power to come to you the moment you woke so we could talk. Sorry it was so late."  
  
"OK," Harry nodded.  
  
"Here." Daystar twisted something in the air, and the screen closed by itself. "Now we can talk a little bit louder. How are you feeling?"  
  
"My pride's hurt more than anything, I guess. I feel some better, though."  
  
"Show me." Daystar handed Harry his wand. "Do a simple spell, a spell you feel comfortable doing."  
  
"Lumos," Harry muttered. The wand blinked a little, but eventually the light came.  
  
"Good. I was worried. Now, don't strain yourself. Put it out."  
  
"Nox," Harry whispered, and the wand light went out, as a flame on a candle being blown out. "Er, Daystar, I saw how bad the Snitch was, and I heard the Bludgers were out of commission as well. Is my Firebolt--"  
  
"Don't worry. Your broom had so many enchantments, not much harm was done. Morwen put a new coat of Flying Ointment on it just to make sure."  
  
"Flying Ointment?"  
  
"Yeah, it's a temporary substance to do a quick spell to make anything fly. Morwen has to apply it at least once every two days to keep it working, but it's very convenient. The cats have a flying laundry basket at home."  
  
Daystar looked down remorsefully. "Harry, I--I am sorry. I let you down."  
  
"No!" Harry said in disbelief. "I don't know you did exactly out there with your sword, but you saved our lives. At least I had a safe landing."  
  
"But I didn't find the culprit. If I did, I could've stopped him. I tried, Harry, you know I did, but I couldn't see anything. You must have been right on top of it, since you and Ron's brothers had the most magic deprivation. Did you see anything?"  
  
"I saw a long, polished, walking stick, a staff! But I couldn't see who was holding it. It was a blur. Daystar, do you know what that thing was?"  
  
"Yes." Daystar looked off into the star-filled sky out the window, his face filled with anger. "I know exactly what it was. The only questions that remain are how and why."  
  
"What is it then? It's not Voldemort. Dumbledore said so." It felt to Harry almost like a dementor, but more painful. "Daystar, did Morwen ever tell you about what happened on the train?"  
  
"What, the card? She told me a few hours ago. She should've told me earlier, but that was partly my fault. I haven't talked to her much outside of class. Don't want conflict of interest, you see. But she said she explained it rather hurriedly. Did you understand it?"  
  
"She said something about stealing magic. I don't remember much beyond that."  
  
"Then I suppose I should tell you more details. I neglected to tell you this when I was telling you how I got here and all, but there were certain words Professor Dumbledore tried to refrain from using because they were different things in our world. One of those words was 'wizard.' When the kid on the Knight Bus mentioned off-hand that Professor Dumbledore was one of the greatest wizards in all London, Father went ballistic to say the least."  
  
"Good night! What did he do?"  
  
"He first was infuriated that we trusted a wizard. Then he yelled 'Argelfraster!' about as many times as you did yesterday afternoon. When that didn't work, he went to the other extreme."  
  
"He tried to kill Dumbledore?"  
  
"No, no. There's more than one way to melt a wizard. The other's really messy. I tell you about it later. You see, Harry, wizards in my world aren't good news. They're, well to be quite frank, they're thieves!"  
  
"They use their powers to steal?"  
  
"No, they steal their powers. They don't have wands. Their magic comes only from their staffs, and the staffs absorb any magic that happens to be nearby. You can imagine, where I'm from there's plenty of it. Their staffs kill our forest."  
  
"How?"  
  
"It's made entirely of magic. As soon as a staff touches that bright green, springy moss, it turns brown and ashy. And that's not the half of it. The Society of Wizards absorbed huge chunks of the Enchanted Forest, to make huge spells. But then they got too greedy. They wanted all the magic of the forest, so they stole this sword. Mother went off to get it, and while she was gone, the wizards trapped my father."  
  
Daystar's face was filled with a fiery expression. "They were the reason for a war in my home, five years ago. They wanted revenge against my family, against the dragons, against the forest. A few were on our side, a very rare few. When Father returned, he passed several laws to keep the wizards far away from us, and he made loads of enchantments to keep anything like this from happening again. But now they're back. And they're after the magic here. They seem to be most interested in yours. And how can it be? The Headwizard and his son are gone, and I haven't heard of another election."  
  
"So, what do we do?"  
  
"Professor Dumbledore is already working on that. Good news and bad news comes of it."  
  
"Good news first, please. I need some good news."  
  
"Well, the good new is we don't have to take the O.W.L.s. The bad news is school is going to get a whole lot more boring for the next few months."  
  
"Yeah, I heard him say that about canceling Quidditch. I hate that."  
  
"That's just the beginning, I'm afraid. Professor Dumbledore ordered all the classes to be solely lectured. No magic for either demonstration or practice. Of course, that will cause some classes to close, like Divination, Transfiguration, Charms--"  
  
"Potions?"  
  
"Unfortunately no. We can still take notes on potions and ingredients of potions without actually making a potion. Hermione lost some of her favorite courses. Professor Dumbledore sent away the house elves and hired Muggle chefs who are familiar with the wizard world. It's going to stay that way until the thief is caught, and Professor Dumbledore gave that responsibility mainly to me."  
  
"You?"  
  
"Yes. Morwen, Telemain, and I are best familiar with these kinds of wizards, and I have the sword. The sword almost works like a wizard staff. It can absorb a spell in use. The difference is it returns the magic to where it belongs. At least, I think it does. There's a lot about the sword we don't understand. So, anyhow, I might have to be more prince-like than I have been. You won't be too intimidated, will you?"  
  
"No, I guess not."  
  
"And if I can use your help, I can count on you, right?"  
  
"All right."  
  
"Good. Now, get your rest. I'll see you in the morning."  
  
Daystar was right. School did get a lot more boring. Not every enchantment was removed, but most of the magical things Harry was starting to take for granted were gone. Lecture for every class was almost unbearable. History of Magic was, of course, unchanged. Potions class was at its worst. Snape's lectures were tedious, but if anybody started nodding off Snape would make a huge example of the napper.  
  
The only class that really remained interesting was DADA. Morwen was clearly upset that her "practical" lessons were being disrupted, but she started discussing her version of the Enchanted Forest and taught about dragons and firewitches.  
  
"I think Mum's a firewitch," Ron hypothesized. "She has the red hair and the unpredictable temper."  
  
"I don't know," Hermione shook her head. "They sound very difficult to control. You Mum can be nice."  
  
"They're not all that bad," Daystar added. "My girlfriend's a firewitch."  
  
Everyone stopped. "Girlfriend?"  
  
"Her name's Shiara. She'd probably slap me across the face for calling her such. See, when I met her, she was really rude and inconsiderate. I wished so hard that she would be more polite. What she wanted was magic, because unlike most firewitches she didn't have any. Well, we both got what we wished for. Now she can only do magic when she's polite. I've been trying to help her turn it around, but she only gets more polite every time I see her now. I don't think she really wants the spell reversed somehow. Oh great, what's this?"  
  
They were heading for the Great Hall for lunch when they saw Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle crowding around Neville, hexing him to the Stone Age.  
  
"Put the wand down, young man!" Daystar said authoritatively.  
  
Draco put the wand down and glared into Daystar's eyes. "What do you want with me, Lucifer?" Crabbe and Goyle giggled.  
  
"Are you trying to attract unwanted attention? Do you want what happened at the Quidditch match to happen again?"  
  
"If you ask me, that event was a crucible. A way to filter out us purebloods from the riff-raff. Wonder how Granger and your other Mudblood friend who teaches DADA did under such circumstances?"  
  
Hermione gasped, Ron looked like he was ready to take Draco on, but Daystar knelt down to Draco's level, glaring furiously. "You, young man, are an insult to the Draconian name."  
  
Draco snorted. "What do you mean?"  
  
"We're you paying attention in Morwen's class? Mother would have a huge problem with your crudeness and lack of diplomacy."  
  
"Well, my father would have a problem with your mother."  
  
"And my father would be furious with your father. Believe me, that would not be good. Professor Dumbledore has allowed me to do certain things without getting into trouble. I wouldn't want to do them to a fellow student, but if you push me or my friends any farther--"  
  
"What will you do? Give me that dud spell you taught Potter? We heard him shouting it." Draco mimicked Harry, "'Argelfraster! Argelfraster!'" Crabbe and Goyle howled with laughter. "No such spell exists! You're not the flashy wizard everybody makes you out to be."  
  
"Oh, you want the other way? OK." Daystar quickly twisted something, and soapy water doused Draco from out of nowhere. The air strongly smelled of lemons. Draco got the soap out of his eyes then glared at Daystar again.  
  
"I've heard of this. Muggles believe this is how witches are destroyed. Stupid muggles."  
  
"Uh, Draco," Crabbe said uncomfortably.  
  
"You think I've never take a shower? I do, quite regularly, and I never melted yet."  
  
"Draco."  
  
"How the mighty have fallen, Lucifer. I got news for you. I am not going to melt because of some soap and water."  
  
"And lemon juice," Daystar added grinning.  
  
"And lemon juice!"  
  
"Draco!" Crabbe cried more urgently.  
  
"What?"  
  
Crabbe pointed down at Draco's robes. Draco was already shrinking, and his legs were no more than a black and brown mess on the floor. Draco gave a small scream and tried to pull himself out of the muck, but it was too late. So instead he shook a fist up at Daystar and screamed, "When my father hears about this, you'll be sorry!" Then his head disappeared in the mess. Daystar looked at Crabbe and Goyle mischievously, and they immediately ran away.  
  
"Are you sure you won't get in trouble with that?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Professor Snape won't like it, but Professor Dumbledore did give me full permission to use it if Harry is badgered so. Don't worry, it's not permanent. He'll probably be back by tomorrow."  
  
"How come it works on some wizards and not for others?"  
  
"We're not really sure. I think it all depends on their goals, whether or not they use magic for good."  
  
Christmas came soon. Harry stayed behind, of course, and so did Ron, Hermione, and Daystar to keep him company. Most everybody else left in case the wizards tried to attack again. Hedwig woke Harry up by dropping a present at the foot of his bed. "Happy Christmas, Harry!"  
  
"Happy Christmas, Hedwig. Come down here, let's see what we got." Ron also woke and joined him.  
  
The Durseleys sent a moldy heel of bread. "Want it, Hedwig?"  
  
"Gross! What do you take me for, a sparrow?"  
  
"I'll throw it out, then. That's what I was intending anyway, but I thought I'd offer."  
  
"Well, I appreciate the thought, I guess."  
  
Mrs. Weasley sent her yearly sweater. Sirius got Harry a color-changing paperweight, probably after Harry had complained in his letters about keeping all his notes together. Ron got Harry an assortment of Zonko's prank stuff. Hermione gave him a novel of Star Wars Episode One. Hagrid got him lots of candy, like Chocolate Frogs and Every Flavor Beans, telling him to make sure he shared not only with Ron and Hermione but with Daystar as well. He wasn't sure what to get a prince.  
  
Morwen and Telemain sent gingerbread and cider, with a note, "You have really made our first semester enjoyable and successful. We appreciate teaching all of you. Merry Christmas! P.S. Here's a gift for Hedwig, Pigwidgeon, Crookshanks, and Genie too." It was blue (?) catnip for the cats and mice for the owls.  
  
"Great, more cider!" Ron cheered. "Wanna wake up Daystar and have some?"  
  
Harry looked around Daystar's bed. "That's odd. He didn't get a whole lot. You'd think at home he'd--" He pulled the curtain from Daystar's four- poster to see the prince holding some kind of sack. "Where'd that come from?"  
  
"Sure didn't see him go to bed with a bag," Ron shrugged. "We'll give him a few more minutes, then."  
  
They went down to the common room and shared their goods with Hermione. Daystar came down a few hours later, carrying that sack.  
  
"Happy Christmas, Daystar!" Harry called up.  
  
"Happy Christmas? I thought you say 'Merry Christmas' in England, like we do. At least, that's what it says in this book." He held up A Christmas Carol. "By the way, Hermione, I really like this so far."  
  
"Thought you would," she answered.  
  
"Well, anyhow, Merry Christmas!" He handed everyone a small, purple gift. "This is from me as well as Mother, Father, and Kazul."  
  
"Who's Kazul?" Harry asked.  
  
"Oh, a friend," Daystar answered uncomfortably.  
  
"Good things come in small packages," Ron said shaking the present at his ear."  
  
"Go ahead. Open it."  
  
So they did. Immediately, a crystal glass full of a chocolate and cherry dessert popped out of the box. Daystar smiled. "It's Mother's famous cherries jubilee. You can have some now, and whenever you want some more, Father bewitched the cup so that when you tap it three times on the rim with the spoon it'll fill up."  
  
The three of them had cherries jubilee and cider in place of breakfast. It was certainly a sweet Christmas.  
  
Afterwards, Daystar took up the bag and walked toward the portrait door. "I'm going to give out the same gift to all my teachers. Would you all like to join me?"  
  
They decided they would, for they had nothing better to do. Daystar went to find many teachers in their offices, but sometimes he had to lead the others to the teacher's personal wing, a place Harry had never been before. Most of the teachers were pleasantly surprised. Dumbledore had a long conversation with the four of them afterwards, nothing serious just fun. Flitwick squeaked with joy. Other teachers seemed skeptical. Filch took his without saying a word and kept glowering at Daystar. He would not smile. If Professor McGonagall wasn't talking with Morwen about animagi, Harry would have expected more of the same from her.  
  
"That only leaves Professor Snape," Daystar said as they neared the end of the tour.  
  
"You got a gift for him?" Ron said in disbelief.  
  
"Now Ron, don't forget Christmas is a time to remember a Gift we didn't deserve."  
  
"Yeah, but still, Sna--ah--ah--achoo!"  
  
Everyone froze. "Tell me that was just dust," Harry muttered.  
  
"Achoo! I don't--achoo!--think--achoo!--so. Ah--ah--ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh-- chooooooooo!"  
  
Hermione screamed, and Harry backed away in fear. "What?" Ron asked.  
  
"Ron, your hair!" Hermione cried.  
  
Ron turned and looked in a window to see his head on fire. "Whoa! That's never--achoo!--happened before. It doesn't even--achoo!--feel hot."  
  
"We'll worry about that later," Daystar said. "Hermione, you and Ron get Morwen and Telemain now! Harry, you come with me."  
  
Daystar pulled invisible strings from his sword and followed where they led. They lead closer and closer to the dungeon. As they drew nearer, Daystar started making pulling and twisting motions in the air.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"Making a weapon."  
  
Harry felt that rope being pulled out of his soul once again, but this time Daystar grabbed it and added it to his magic ball. Harry winced. "Oh, is that yours? Sorry." He pulled it out and tied it to the sword's hilt so it wouldn't be absorbed.  
  
Daystar stood by the doors, holding tightly to his invisible ball, and shouted inside, "I know you are in there, wizard! In the name of the Enchanted Forest and in my father Mendanbar, I order you to come out or suffer the consequences."  
  
"Very well, Daystar," an oily voice answered. The door opened to reveal a hand holding a staff. Harry expected someone like Zemenar standing there, but the owner was more sinister.  
  
It was Snape. 


	8. In Which They All Lose Their Temper

Chapter 8: In Which They All Lose Their Temper  
  
Daystar was really taken aback. One of his own teachers whom he trusted was the cause of all this trouble?  
  
"What are you gawking at?" Snape snapped at him. "Surely you've seen more impressive things in your lifetime than an old walking stick."  
  
Daystar was searching for words, but nothing was coming out. "You, you, you fool!" Snape looked at him sharply, and Daystar checked himself. "I am sorry. I meant no disrespect. Please let us in, and we'll have a little talk. Leave your staff at the door."  
  
Snape gave him one more, hard glare then allowed Daystar and Harry in. Once he let go of his staff, that horrible pulling feeling in Harry's soul helped. Snape offered a chair to his guests and sat at his own desk. Harry stared at Snape with increasing anger. Snape gave Harry a particularly nasty look before Daystar spoke up.  
  
"How long have you had the staff?"  
  
"Since last night."  
  
"You were not responsible for what happened at the Quidditch match?"  
  
"I am not."  
  
"You swear it?"  
  
"Yes. I had nothing to do with it."  
  
"You have seen what this thing does then, what damage it has cause to this school."  
  
"Do you know for a fact that it was a staff?"  
  
"Of course. There is nothing else it could have been. So one question remains: Why?"  
  
"Because I was elected." Snape handed Daystar a letter, which the prince read aloud:  
  
Dear Professor Severus Snape,  
  
Congratulations! We have reviewed your record and are impressed with your credentials. We have nominated you for our new Head Wizard. Enclosed is a gift we wish for you to take to consider joining us. We wish to meet with you in your dungeon to discuss initiation on the evening of--  
  
"There they are!" Hermione ran in, followed by Morwen, Telemain, and Ron. Ron's hair looked frizzled and singed in some places. Telemain inspected the staff by the door and verified that it was from the Society of Wizards. Harry had never seen Morwen so angry. She had been strict, yes, but now she looked like she would blow her top.  
  
"All right, Severus, put it away!"  
  
"Make me."  
  
"Severus, do you know our school's motto?"  
  
"Of course, 'Draco Dormiens Nuquam Tittilandus.' It's a common sense phrase: 'Never tickle a sleeping dragon.' So?"  
  
"Well, you might as well be tickling a dragon's nose with that thing! Listen, the Dark Lord has returned, and the Society of Wizards has given you a tool to drain this school and all that dwell within it dry of all its magic!"  
  
"That's where you're wrong, Morwen. It has an on/off function; it has to. They know what environment I live in."  
  
"Negative," Telemain answered. "I had such a staff in my possession for years. The only method to cease its absorption function is to cause the staff itself to dematerialize."  
  
"Meaning?" Ron said impatiently.  
  
"In order to make it stop soaking up magic, the staff needs to disappear," Hermione explained.  
  
"That's what I said!" Telemain yelled.  
  
"With as much as Telemain knows about figuring magic things out, you should know this is tricky magic," Morwen added. "The Society does not like those staffs turned off."  
  
"Hear me out, woman! I have never been the head of anything, never head of my class, head of the school, not even head of a household!" He looked at Morwen jealously.  
  
Telemain sensed this and seethed with anger. "You are head of Slytherin house. Isn't that enough for you?"  
  
Snape ignored him. "These wizards are practically giving me the chance to be the very top of something. You think I would pass this up?"  
  
At that moment, Dumbledore ran into the doorway. "Severus, there you are. You too Morwen, and Telemain I've been looking all over for you. The Christmas feast is about to start."  
  
"Albus, I'm glad you're here," Snape said standing up. "I'd like to announce that at the end of this year, I, Severus Snape, am resigning from Hogwarts."  
  
Dumbledore looked flustered. "Resigning? Dear me, this is rather sudden. Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"Well, how in the world are we going to replace you, especially in these turbulent times? We need you, Severus. I'll give you that Defense Against the Dark Arts position you have wanted so badly if you stay."  
  
Snape walked up to Dumbledore so that they were standing crooked nose to crooked nose. "You have allowed me to be candid before, so let me do it again. I hate teaching. I hate my students. And most of all, I hate this school. It's nothing personal, but I have been called to loftier things. It is time for me to move on. And I do not care whom you get to replace me. Indeed, I don't care anything you do in this world. Just let me go."  
  
Dumbledore paused, looking hesitant. "Very well. We shall meet later, try to make this final. For now, come to the feast. Let us have a happy Christmas."  
  
"I will be there shortly."  
  
Dumbledore turned and left. Morwen walked after him, but first she grabbed Snape's arm and turned him around. "I thought you were supposed to be fighting evil," she hissed. "Very well, do as you wish, but I'm warning you: as long as you have that staff, Hogwarts is going to be a city without walls." She turned away, refusing to look at him. Telemain walked after her, giving Snape a hairy eyeball all the way.  
  
"I almost forgot. This is for you." Daystar tossed a gift to Snape and said the most un-merry "Merry Christmas" that Harry ever heard. He promptly got up and left. Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed.  
  
The rest of the day was a very somber Christmas among the four of them. Daystar was infuriated and paced in front of the fireplace in the common room. Harry and Hermione were arguing with him what the best plan of action would be to take. Ron was more worried about something completely different.  
  
"I'm really a firewitch?"  
  
Hermione seemed annoyed. "Don't you have any notes from when Morwen taught that lesson? Yes, all the clues of late show that you are a firewitch. Actually, it's rather amazing that I didn't think of this before. It's rather bizarre that an entire family would have such read hair. And most of you seem to have a short temper at times, and then of course your hair burst into flames earlier today."  
  
"I'm really a firewitch? Why didn't Mum and Dad tell me?"  
  
"Didn't you already speculate that your mother was a firewitch?" Harry spoke up.  
  
"I was kidding! I didn't want Mum or anybody in my family to really be a firewitch. Oh, I bet that's why we're so poor and why we aren't respected."  
  
"What do you mean? Morwen didn't say firewitches were really bad, and Daystar's going out with one."  
  
"Well, that's in his world. Firewitches are in our world, but they're often seen as loons. They have so much magic in them, even proper training can't tone it down. They're a danger to Muggles and wizards alike. Most of them are institutionalized."  
  
"Now, you're not being rational," Hermione said. "Sure, you can control your magic fine."  
  
"Yes, there are some firewitches that have no trouble. Most of them joined You-Know-Who. They're still seen as crazy, often evil."  
  
"Ron, please," Daystar said. "Firewitches are people, like everybody. You're sister is as sweet as they come, from what little I've seen of her, and you and your brothers are clever and funny. Shiara has no sense of humor, save for maybe some sarcasm she uses when she's really angry. Besides, I'm not sure whether or not you could be a firewitch. You and your brothers are very allergic to wizard staffs, and firewitches are not. In fact, if you are really a firewitch, you will be a great asset to us."  
  
"How?"  
  
"That's what I'm trying to decide."  
  
"I keep telling you," Harry yelled, "let's all just go down, melt Snape, and break his staff in half."  
  
"No!" Daystar said. "I can't do that to a teacher, even though he isn't much of one. And staffs don't just break like that. The spells on them are too strong."  
  
"Should we talk to Dumbledore?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Dumbledore knows. He saw Snape's staff in his office, didn't he?"  
  
"What would Morwen and Telemain do?"  
  
"Well, they tried to negotiate, we saw that. Telemain's probably devising a spell to protect the castle right now. Who knows how long it will be before it goes up?"  
  
Daystar heaved a sigh. "There's only one thing left to do. I must go home and tell Mother and Father." He then stopped pacing and looked his friends in the eye. "And I want you to come with me." 


	9. In Which They Go Spelunking

Chapter 9: In Which They Go Spelunking  
  
Ron wrinkled his eyebrows. "What for?"  
  
"You're witnesses," Daystar answered. "Plus, I think Father could think of something for all of you to do. But I'm afraid it's going to take a few days before we all can go. You have to take a potion to ensure your destination, and I'm running low the ingredients. We got to get enough for all four of us."  
  
Actually, that wasn't as hard as Daystar had thought. When school started up again, Daystar gathered them easily from Herbology, as most of them were herbal. He got what they lacked from there at their next Hogsmead visit. They agreed to take it on a Friday night, so they could sleep in if they needed to on Saturday morning.  
  
Daystar served the potion in steaming coffee mugs. "This is a lot like Sleepy Time Tea. It has chamomile and peppermint. You can put in some sugar or honey to make it taste better, and it won't effect the magic of the potion. It will give you control over your dreams, and you won't go off to another dreamension on your own." Harry and Ron looked confused, but Daystar shrugged. "You'll see what I mean. Drink up."  
  
Harry sipped the potion. It did taste a lot like hot tea. He tried to drink more in one gulp, but he almost burned his tongue. "No, no. Don't drink it too fast. Take your time. It's very strong. You don't want to leave your body before you're asleep. It's not comfortable."  
  
"We'd be four Professor Binns," Ron quipped.  
  
Harry finished in reasonable time, about the same time Daystar finished. "OK, see you in a few minutes." Harry felt really tired and followed Daystar up to the dormitory. He didn't get out of his robes but collapsed on his bed and went to sleep right as he hit the pillow.  
  
"Harry!" he later heard Daystar whisper. Harry opened his eyes to see Daystar in the same gardener-like outfit he saw him wear at Diagon Alley, the sword still at his side. "Come on. It's time to go." Daystar also woke Ron the same manner.  
  
"Are you sure we're dreaming?" Ron asked groggily as he got up.  
  
"Sure I'm sure," Daystar answered. "Turn around if you don't believe me."  
  
Ron turned to see himself sleeping in his bed. As he turned, the sleeping Ron also turned over in bed. "Whoa," Ron whispered.  
  
"Come on. Hermes is waiting for us," Daystar whispered.  
  
"How do you know?" Harry asked, but Daystar didn't answered. Hermione was waiting on them as he predicted.  
  
"Hey, check this out!" Ron cried. He put his arm through the wall, just like a ghost. "We can go through the portrait hall without the Fat Lady noticing."  
  
"That maybe a good idea for another time," Daystar told him. "But watch this." Daystar stood before the portrait hole and said:  
  
"By night and flame and shining rock, Open thou thy hidden lock. Alberolingarn!"  
  
The portrait swung open, and they saw a dark tunnel. Harry pulled the wand out of his sleeve and whispered, "Lumos!" Ron and Hermione did the same. Daystar drew his sword.  
  
"It's a cave!" Hermione cried.  
  
"Not just any cave. My friends, welcome to the Caves of Fire and Night. Come in. Now, you can still hold your wands, but I need all of you to hold hands, or at least put your free hand on your neighbor's shoulder. Hermes, you're the closest to the wall. Keep your hand on the wall at all times. It's vitally important that we all stay together."  
  
"The Caves of Fire and Night," Hermione whispered. "Isn't this in the Mountains of Morning, where the King of the Dragons lives?"  
  
"It sure is," Daystar answered. "It's our quickest and safest way to the Enchanted Forest, and it's rather impressive."  
  
"This isn't like other caves," Hermione said in awe. "It feels warm, not cold and damp. Nice place to go on a cold winter day."  
  
"That's part of the reason it's of fire." As Daystar said this, suddenly the wands went out.  
  
"Lumos!" Ron yelled. "Lumos already! Stupid wand!" Harry felt Ron's wand tip scratching against his arm.  
  
"Ron, calm down," Daystar said out of nowhere. "That's more of the caves' magic. Just keep walking, and stay together. That's why I said to keep holding hands."  
  
"But I can't see anything!" Ron whimpered.  
  
"Relax. I've been through these caves countless times. I know them like the back of my hand. The light will come back in a few minutes."  
  
"I think this is amazing," Hermione said. "It reminds me when I was on holiday in America. I went through a cave system in Texas, and there was this one point they turned off all the lights and read Genesis 1 in the dark. It was awesome, being completely in the dark for a little while. It feels like the rest of the world doesn't exist."  
  
"Yeah," Ron said. "It's creepy."  
  
"Oh, here we go," Daystar said. "Let there be light!" As he spoke, the wands lit up once more.  
  
"Good. Now let's get going before it goes dark again," Ron said urgently.  
  
"Then we'll want to take this tunnel here," Daystar said leading them from a five-tongued fork.  
  
"What are in the other tunnels?" Harry asked.  
  
"Some of those are my favorite places to go when I head down here. That first one has hot springs where some old dragons bathe. It's really relaxing. Then it leads into a cave with molten silver dripping off the walls and a chasm with molten lava. I like watching the dwarfs make swords down there, but I think the word is starting to get out. Last time I was down there, I saw three Asian guys molding a beautiful sword. The cave system right next to it is a maze, and the tunnels move around, so that no matter how you mark your way you get lost. It's a nice place for a morning jog. I have an elfish friend who likes to go through that maze, looking for treasure chests and monsters to fight. I keep trying to tell him there aren't any in there."  
  
"So where do these tunnels lead?" Hermione asked eagerly.  
  
"Through the King's Cave," Daystar answered.  
  
"Oooh, I can't wait to see that!" Hermione grinned.  
  
"Awwwe, crud!" Ron yelled. The lights went out again.  
  
"The King's Cave," Harry thought aloud as Ron continued to grumble about the lights going out. "Is that where the King of the Dragons lives?"  
  
"No. It's where Colin's Stone was discovered, which chooses the dragon king."  
  
"Oh. I think I remember Morwen telling us about that." He mainly remembered Morwen overstressing that dragons are much more civilized than wizards make them out to look and they need to be really polite to dragons. Somehow, Harry thought it sounded much like Hagrid's discussion of hippogriffs.  
  
The light came back up as they found themselves in a cave with a deep well at the end. "I've read about this place!" Hermione cried delighted. "This is the cave of the Healing Well. Heroes have to draw water in the well with the tin dipper. If they use the golden dipper, they turn to stone."  
  
"What golden dipper?" Ron said.  
  
"Hey, where'd it go?"  
  
"I can fill you in," Daystar answered. "A year or so ago, a prince with some kind of identity problem came here. He first filled his flask up with the tin dipper and disenchanted the foolish princes that went before him. Then, as they left, he stole the golden dipper. Whenever he found himself stiffening up, he just drank from the water. The magic didn't like him looking for loopholes everywhere, so it blew him up. The golden dipper was destroyed. So now, all the princes have to do is get past the caves."  
  
"I see. Well, that kinda defeats the purpose of the tale, but anyhow."  
  
As the exited the cave, Daystar turned around and stopped them. "Now, you guys think Howlers are bad? Well, you better be careful in this next one. It's the King's Cave. We gotta get through as quickly as we can, and whatever you do, don't make a sound. Got it? Alright, let's go."  
  
The cave was full of shiny, black rock that looked as though it had been polished a million times. "It's beautiful!" Hermione barely whispered, but the stones of the cave echoed her whisper so many times, it almost sound like a scream. Harry cringed. Ron glared at Hermione. Daystar also gave her a stern look and put his finger to his lips. Hermione looked down in shame.  
  
Even though the four of them were in slippers or bare feet, their gentle steps sounded like an entire marching army. As they approached the middle of the cave, Harry felt a slight vibration in his bones. It grew only a little stronger as he continued on, and it felt rather pleasant. Ron however groaned and collapsed. The sound of his tripping was enough to make Harry's head split open almost. Daystar didn't get after him as he did Hermione, but motioned for Harry to help pick Ron up. They did so and walked out as silently as they possibly could.  
  
"That was weird," Harry observed.  
  
"Weird?" Ron cried. "It was awful! Didn't you all feel that shaking inside of you?"  
  
"Yeah," Hermione said. "Wish I could have stayed in there longer. I imagine it could be nicely therapeutic."  
  
"Therapeutic?!? It nearly shook me to pieces! It hurt!"  
  
"Odd," Daystar said. "There's only one other creature I heard of that's upset by the King's Cave."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"I'll have to think about that a little more," Daystar answered thoughtfully. "Hey, you all might be able to use a break, get a quick drink."  
  
"These caves are rather dusty," Harry observed.  
  
"We can have a drink when we get to the castle if Daystar's parents offer," Hermione said.  
  
"No, we can have a stop in here. I'll show you one of my discoveries." He walked over to wall, tapped it with his sword, and steps appeared. He led them up to show several tiny, stone straws hanging down the walls. "This is Soda Straw Balcony."  
  
"But soda straws are just tiny stalactites hollowed out. They're not really straws, are they?" Hermione said in her know-it-all voice.  
  
"You forget, Hermes, we're in a magic cave. All you do is lie on your back very, very still. The nearest soda straw will touch your lips. Think about your favorite refreshment, and sip. The dragons didn't know about this because they're so big they couldn't take advantage of it. Go on, get comfortable."  
  
As they got situated, the lights went out again. "We'll just hang around here until the light comes back. Then we'll have just enough time to get out of here."  
  
Harry couldn't decide between Butterbeer and Morwen's cider, but the cider was tending to win. What he got was a tangy, fizzy cider with a hint of butterscotch. "This is really good."  
  
"Mmm-hmm," Ron answered. "Just what I needed, the most refreshing Butterbeer I've had. What do you got, Hermione?"  
  
"Dr. Pepper," Hermione answered satisfied.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"It's a Muggle drink from America. It's really good."  
  
"I'm rather partial to Morwen's cider myself," Daystar said. "It's nice and cool from the soda straws."  
  
"Who goes there?" an angry female voice shot out of the dark. It shocked Harry so much, he choked on his Butter-cider, and it spilled all over his face. The lights came back up as the voice once again yelled, "Show yourself!"  
  
Harry and the others peered over the balcony. The speaker was a young woman about Daystar's age. She wore a very worn-out, plain dress, full of tears and scorch marks. She wore a bandana on her head, but it could not hide her brilliantly red hair. Her face would have been very pretty, if she smiled a little more. She held a golden torch up to the balcony and scowled at them. Ron almost fell out of the balcony as he got a good look at her. "Joy?"  
  
"Hey Shiara," Daystar said smiling.  
  
The lady's face eased a little more when she heard Daystar's voice, but she still didn't smile. "Daystar, what do you think you're doing? You know better than to cause such a racket in the King's Cave, especially at this time of day."  
  
"I tried my best, Shiara. I got newcomers. These are my friends, Harry, Ron, and Hermes."  
  
"Quit calling me that!" Hermione hissed.  
  
"Excuse me," Ron said. "Do you happen to have a twin sister named Joy McGuiggan who lives in Dublin?"  
  
Shiara scoffed. "No. You're that kid who nearly got blown up all those times, aren't you?"  
  
"Uh, no, I think you mean him." Ron nodded toward Harry.  
  
"Are you? Let's see it then."  
  
"What?" Harry asked.  
  
"The scar, stupid!"  
  
"Oh." Harry pushed back his hair to show her.  
  
"Uh-huh." Shiara turned back to Ron. "I was about to say that that blow to the head must have done some damage to your brain."  
  
Ron and Harry both looked taken aback. "Shiara, please, they're my friends!" Daystar said.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, just get your posse out before you do anymore damage."  
  
"OK. We need to be getting home anyway."  
  
"Good." Shiara turned to leave as they got down from the balcony. Then she turned back again and gave a small smile, but she looked as though it was uncomfortable. "You guys have a safe journey, and a happy New Year."  
  
"New Year's was days ago," Hermione said.  
  
Shiara frowned again. "Well fine! I try to be polite and wish you well, but if that's all you have to say--" She continued to yell, and her hair burst into flames just as Ron's had done.  
  
"Shiara, calm down!" Daystar cried. "We appreciate it greatly. We really do."  
  
Shiara sighed, and he hair went out. "OK."  
  
"That's better. Have a good day."  
  
Shiara nodded and disappeared down the tunnels. "How do you stand her?" Harry asked.  
  
"Believe it or not, she's getting better every day. She's probably a little high strung because this is her job. She was put in charge of guarding and maintaining the Caves of Fire and Night. I bet she didn't get much sleep."  
  
"It's uncanny how much she looked like my cousin," Ron said. "Maybe I am a firewitch."  
  
"Yeah, but what's a firewitch doing in the Mountains of Morning?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Look!" Daystar said. "We're almost out." The lights went out in the cave once more, but there was enough light coming from the mouth of the cave to get them through. Daystar led them out and said triumphantly, "Ladies and gentlemen, we're home."  
  
After he adjusted his eyes to the light, Harry looked around in amazement. Everything in the forest was covered in a vibrant, green moss that looked like fuzz. The trees were enormous, so tall he could only see the first row. Vibrant flowers peeked out here and there. Yet to Harry, the most prominent feature was that which he could not see. It was a cool, tingly feeling settled on his shoulders. Harry was sure it was more than just a nip in the air. It somehow made him feel comfortable, like this is where he belonged. Ron gazed around with the same wonder, but Hermione merely nodded. Harry had no idea how she couldn't be impressed. He expected something like the Forbidden Forest, but this was more like a jungle. He had never seen anything more exotic. Never.  
  
"So, how long a walk do we have?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Walk?" Daystar laughed. "Hermes, we don't have to walk at all!" With that, he plucked something in the air, and the forest disappeared.  
  
Note: Please let me know if you're enjoying the story so far. I just had a birthday, and the best gift I can get is a review from you! Thanks. 


	10. In Which They Listen to Rumors From a Qu...

Chapter 10: In Which They Listen to Rumors From a Queen and Take a King's Advice  
  
The entire forest dissolved in a thick mist. Before Harry could wonder where he was, the mist faded, and the four of them were standing before a grand castle.  
  
"Nice, clean apparating," Ron remarked. "I couldn't even tell we were moving!"  
  
"Yeah, it's very handy. I kinda wish I were allowed to do it at Hogwarts, I'm so used to it." Daystar led the young students into the castle and up to a desk with an elf working eagerly on paperwork. He was three feet high and looked very old, but he wore very fancy clothes like the goblins at Gringotts wore. He was the most healthy, well-off house elf Harry had ever seen.  
  
"Good day, Willin!" Daystar said cheerfully, causing the poor elf to drop several of his papers.  
  
"Master Daystar! Have you no respect for the protocol? Why have you not informed the castle weeks ahead of time that you were coming with guests?"  
  
"I apologize, but this is an emergency. We need Father's advice."  
  
Willin still had a look of shock that Daystar even considered breaking protocol, but he got up. "Very well. How might I introduce your guests?"  
  
"These are my friends, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger."  
  
"Good. Right this way please."  
  
Willin led them through the corridor up a flight of stairs. Looking around, Harry could see this was a lot like Hogwarts. It was truly a splendid castle, though it had too many staircases. Willin took them to what looked like a patio.  
  
"His Majesty, Prince Daystar!" Willin announced. "And distinguished guests in his company, Mister Harry Potter, Mister Ron Weasley, and Miss Hermione Granger!"  
  
Harry then realized that he was in the presence of the king. He bowed to the floor. Then a voice laughed. "Get up, son."  
  
Harry looked up at the man speaking to him. He expected the monarchs to look something like Princess Diana and an older Prince William. Yet when he saw Mendanbar, he almost jumped. He looked much like Harry's father, that mischievous twinkle in his eye, the bright smile, and the messy, black hair were all there. The queen was not much like Harry's mother, though. Cimorene was very tall and had long, black hair that hung all the way down to her feet. Most surprising, however, was that neither had the least hint that they were royal in their dress. Neither wore a crown, and they were both in work clothes. Mendanbar wasn't even wearing shoes.  
  
As Harry was looking up, Mendanbar knelt down to him in interest. "Wait a minute. Let me see this." He did something Harry never allowed people to do--trace his finger along his scar. Maybe the king was doing some sort of spell, because Harry felt a tingle where Mendanbar's finger was touching. Mendanbar smiled. "Cool. You must be Harry."  
  
"Yes, your majesty," Harry answered humbly.  
  
"Daystar told us all about you. I really should be bowing to you, young man, after all you done.  
  
"No, please don't, your majesty," Harry replied nervously.  
  
Mendanbar laughed again. "Relax. If you consider yourself equal with my son, you shall do the same with me. Now get up."  
  
Harry stood, as did Ron. Mendanbar shook Harry's hand then turned to Ron. "And you must be Ron. Daystar speaks of you all the time as well." Ron went so white, Harry couldn't see his freckles. Ron couldn't believe he was shaking hands with a king. "And Hermione, charmed."  
  
"Hermione!" Cimorene cried enthusiastically. "I remember you. When I last saw you, you were only this big." She put her hand just above her knee. "You remember that?"  
  
"Vaguely, but yes," Hermione nodded.  
  
"And you have grown since then." Harry didn't understand this. How is it Hermione knew the queen? Before he could ask any questions, she was greeting them. "And you, boys. We're meeting each other for the first time now."  
  
"Uh, we loved your Cherries Jubilee, your majesty," Harry managed to say.  
  
"Good! I ought to get all of you some more. Mendanbar and I could use a break."  
  
"Oh yes." Mendanbar clapped his hand on Daystar's back. "How do you like it, son? It's our new sunroom."  
  
"Lovely." Through the walls and the floor, Harry saw the vibrant green and bright flowers of the Enchanted Forest.  
  
"Yes, we're trying out that spell on the Great Hall's ceiling on the whole room. That way we can admire our kingdom without mosquitoes and other pests. We're not quite done yet, though. Have to make it a tad more stable. What do you say we move to a place that's somewhat more finished to talk?"  
  
"OK," Daystar nodded.  
  
So Mendanbar did the apparation trick again, and they were transported to a study. "This way," Mendanbar motioned.  
  
Harry followed him until a voice called to him. "Hey you!" Harry stopped and looked up to see a wooden gargoyle gazing down at him. "Yeah, did you know that a spider died and fell on your head?"  
  
"ARRRRRRRGH!" Ron cried trying to bat it off. "GET RID OF IT! GET RID OF IT!'  
  
"Ron, geroff," Harry grumbled. "He's just insulting my scar."  
  
"Scar? Is that what that marking is?" the gargoyle leered. "What did you do, fall on a jagged-shaped coffee table and hit your poor, tender head?"  
  
"I was nearly killed!" Harry cried in spite.  
  
"Rather clumsy kid, you must be, if you were nearly killed by a cut."  
  
"Shut up, Pu!" Daystar yelled at the gargoyle.  
  
"Make me," the gargoyle answered, then yelled again at Harry, "Your hair looks like a bird's nest! Do you hear me? A bird's nest!"  
  
"Ignore Punic," Daystar whispered to Harry and his friends. "All he does is insult and complain."  
  
"Punic?" Hermione said.  
  
"Yeah, I just happened to run across that word somewhere, and it seemed to fit. It sounded ugly enough."  
  
Mendanbar crossed the study and came to a door across the way. He snapped his fingers and a key appeared in front of him in the air. He unlocked the door with the key and admitted them into a room that looked much like the Gryffindor Common Room. Cimorene came in with a large plate. "Sorry, I didn't have enough cherries to make another batch of Cherries Jubilee, so I got some chocolate chip cookies for you instead." Everybody eagerly grabbed some and sat down.  
  
"Now, Daystar," Mendanbar said thoughtfully, "you best have good reason to come here unannounced with your friends."  
  
"Yes, a very good reason, Father, and I am sad to say it is not pleasant. The Society of Wizards has returned."  
  
There was a grim silence for a few moments, and Mendanbar nodded. He was not smiling. "Are you certain?"  
  
"Quite certain, Father. To make matters worse, they are trying to recruit one of Hogwarts' own teachers as their new Headwizard."  
  
"Let me guess, the one who teaches Potions, right?"  
  
"The very same."  
  
"Figures. That guy gives me the creeps! Well, tell me more about it."  
  
So they did. Daystar and Harry did most of the talking. Ron and Hermione added details along the way from their perspective. They told everything, from that moment when Harry got the strange trading card, to the Quidditch match disaster, to the Christmas where they discovered Snape's nomination.  
  
"I really don't understand how this can be," Daystar said. "After Antorell disappeared, didn't the Society of Wizards disband?"  
  
"I thought they did," Mendanbar answered. "I've tried checking on them several times to see if they were still around, and I haven't heard of them gathering lately."  
  
"Nothing of them planning an election for a Headwizard?" Harry asked.  
  
"No. Nothing of the sort."  
  
"Well, I've heard something," Cimorene said uncomfortably. "I really shouldn't repeat it though."  
  
"Why not, Honey?" Mendanbar said with concern.  
  
"It's just a rumor. Unconfirmed. An ambassador from Linderwall told me. It's sounded much like gossip, and I really shouldn't repeat something so ugly, and it may not be true."  
  
"Well, it could be the only clue we have," Mendanbar answered.  
  
"Alright then. But remember I have nothing to back this up." Cimorene nibbled nervously on her cookie as she said, "The word is, Arona Michaelear Grinogion Vamist II has taken up his father's business."  
  
Everyone looked at her in astonishment and confusion. "What?" Mendanbar said.  
  
"Who's that?" Harry asked.  
  
"Got me," Daystar shrugged.  
  
Cimorene put down her cookie and laughed. "I'm so sorry. I forgot, you were tied up with the Society of Wizards, and you weren't even born yet." She indicated Mendanbar and Daystar respectively. "Morwen and I remember him though. I don't think he had any magical ability of his own, but he went around criticizing everyone who did. He wanted everyone to do it the traditional way. Take witches for example. He thought every witch had to have wrinkles and warts, own one black cat, wear pointed hats, and eat children."  
  
"Basically the muggle point of view," Hermione noted.  
  
"I suppose so. Morwen couldn't stand it at all. She prided herself on being a non-traditional witch. From what I heard about Hogwarts, I'm sure if Vamist saw it, he'd have a hissing fit."  
  
"Sounds like a Slytherin to me," Ron muttered.  
  
"What happened to him?" Daystar asked.  
  
"I'm getting to that! For whatever reason, he conspired with the Society of Wizards to steal the sword." Mendanbar winced. "Yes, I know dear. We wasted all our time searching for the Society's headquarters in the Brown Forest when it was at Vamist's house all along. Luckily, we got it and got back here successfully. Unfortunately, it was too late. As for Vamist, well, you remember that seven-foot rabbit that was turned into a floating, blue donkey?"  
  
"Somewhat, yes," Mendanbar nodded.  
  
"Well, Morwen and Telemain tried to remove all those enchantments on him, but they were too stuck. So Morwen did a quick switching spell that gave the rabbit its body back and turned Vamist into a floating, blue donkey with wings. He became the laughingstock of his village, and no one listened to him again--no one, except his son obviously.  
  
"It really took me by surprise when I heard. It was quite obvious that Vamist didn't have a family when we met him. I don't know, maybe his family lived elsewhere or he adopted. Whatever it is, I've heard that his son is spreading his notions again about proper magic, yet he took it to the next level. Now, this is the part that maybe gossip the most, so you might want to disregard it, but I heard that Arona Michaelear Grinogion Vamist II believes that the only proper magic is," Cimorene gulped, "black magic."  
  
Daystar shook his head. "What's with all these dark wizards and amusing names?"  
  
"I don't know. Maybe it's a trend. However, that's not important. Unlike his father, the young Vamist has practiced this kind of magic. Dived right into it, so I've heard. His father had joined ranks with the Society before. Maybe when he heard of the real power of the Lake of Weeping Dreamers, he sought this new world to bring them back again."  
  
"No wonder Snape is so interested in joining!" Harry piped up. "He's always been interested in the Dark Arts."  
  
"But the Society itself isn't necessarily dark, is it?" Daystar said. "I mean, some of the wizards were on our side, I think, right?"  
  
"It's hard to tell if the Society is dark magic or not, though I must say they certainly are not honorable," Cimorene answered. "Evidently, Vamist thinks they are, or else he could be bringing them back together for revenge."  
  
"If that's true, why are they attacking Hogwarts? Why not here?"  
  
"Who knows? They might go here next, once they get as much magic as they need," Mendanbar answered.  
  
"So what should we do?" Daystar asked.  
  
Mendanbar leaned over and looked Daystar in the eye. "Find him. Once you do, alert me immediately. Telemain has a magic mirror. He can contact me."  
  
"Should we take him on?" Daystar asked. "Do you think we'd have a chance?"  
  
"Well, you do have the sword, but alone--"  
  
"I won't be alone. I have these three."  
  
"Daystar, do you think that's wise?" Cimorene said.  
  
"I think we might have a chance. Harry's been through countless stuff like this these past few years. Ron could possibly be a firewitch or at least part firewitch. And Hermione--well, you already know about Hermione."  
  
Mendanbar nodded. "You're right. Undoubtedly, the three of you will make a formidable force. Try to stick together. But don't wait until you see Vamist. Once you see any sign that the Society is about again, tell me right away, and I'll come help you. Understand?"  
  
"Yes Father."  
  
"Good. Now, while your friends are still with us, I think they'll enjoy a tour, won't you?"  
  
"Yes, your majesty," Harry said bowing his head.  
  
"It would be an honor," Ron added.  
  
"If you please, your majesty," Hermione spoke up, "I'd like to see something just outside the castle. I won't go into the forest, I promise."  
  
Mendanbar looked at the girl with doubt, but Cimorene nodded. "Well, from what I heard, you stay true to your word. Very well, Hermione. Just make sure you be careful." He twisted something in the air, and Hermione disappeared with a brief whoosh. "The rest of you come with me."  
  
The castle was filled with many interesting rooms and staircases, secret passages, and other delights. Harry and Ron continually remarked how much it reminded them of Hogwarts, except that it was even more exciting.  
  
"How is it like, being a king in this domain?" Harry asked.  
  
"It has its benefits, but you know, 'Uneasily lies the head that wears a crown.' Yet with my family and all my friends, it's not so bad."  
  
"This place is remarkable. Magic is everywhere; unpredictable secrets are around every corner. I love it here. I wish I could visit more often."  
  
"Well, you could in your dreams and all."  
  
"No. The Durseleys wouldn't allow me to make that potion, and my dreams don't normally work that way. They tell me things. They don't make a lot of sense when I first have them, but sometimes they help me."  
  
"Maybe we'll have to help you on this end somehow," Mendanbar thought aloud.  
  
"What exactly is Hermione doing?" Ron asked sleepily as he looked out the window. She looked like she was talking to something, but Harry couldn't see what.  
  
"Let's go see," Daystar said while apparating. Harry saw Hermione was talking to a small gold lizard.  
  
"Oh look, they decided to join me. Guys, this is my friend Suz."  
  
The lizard slithered over toward Harry and hung on his finger. "Hi Suz. My name's Harry."  
  
"You are?" Suz squeaked. "You really are! How intriguing! And you have the scar. Quite amazing!"  
  
"And this is Ron," Hermione introduced.  
  
"Yes, so it is!" Suz exclaimed. "How interesting!" Ron laughed. Nobody ever thought he was interesting before.  
  
"How does Hermione know you?" he asked Suz.  
  
"We're old friends," Hermione answered. Then she looked at Suz concerned. "Please Suz, tell me. I missed seeing you these past four years. Why do you say I haven't been allowed?"  
  
"I don't approve of this. No, not at all." Suz answered. "It's the rules. You aren't supposed to come back."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
But Harry never found out why not, for at that moment he woke up. 


	11. In Which There is a lot of Preparation

Chapter 11: In Which There is a lot of Preparation  
  
Harry stayed in his bed for a long time, thinking of all he experienced. Ron woke seconds after Harry and did the same. After a while, Harry had an idea, got up, dressed, and raced to the Common Room. Ron quickly followed him. However, before they went down they stopped on the stairway. Loud crying was coming from the girls' dorm.  
  
"Hermione?" Harry asked.  
  
"More than likely. I stayed long enough to see Suz dump her," Ron said.  
  
"How does she know that thing?"  
  
"I have no idea."  
  
Hermione came down about an hour later, her eyes dried but still clearly upset.  
  
"What's wrong, Hermione?" Ron asked.  
  
"I don't wanna talk about it," Hermione replied softly.  
  
"Come on, girl. You can tell us," Harry said.  
  
"Leave me alone."  
  
She stayed in that chair next to the fireplace, not talking to anyone except Crookshanks. Harry only caught bits of their conversation. "I know. You are my friend, but still . . . I guess I had to expect this. Peter and Lucy had to go through the same with Aslan, didn't they? But it's a part of my life."  
  
Daystar came down in about an hour, and he saw Hermione's distress. "Hey, Hermes," he said gently.  
  
"Go away," she said grumpily.  
  
"Please, Beautiful. Let me talk to you."  
  
She snorted. "You're the last person I want to talk to."  
  
"Herme--uh, mione--I know Suz quite well myself. I understand the little guy's psychology. Whatever Suz tell you might not be the same as your interpretation."  
  
Hermione paused as she thought of this. "Pull up a chair," she finally said sulkily.  
  
Daystar did this. Harry and Ron came up around him, but he said, "Guys, maybe you should go on to breakfast. We may or may not join you in a little while."  
  
Harry nodded to Ron, and they walked out of the portrait hole. Daystar and Hermione did show up late, right before the Great Hall closed to prepare for lunch. Hermione looked red-faced and didn't talk much. Harry could tell she was still trying to cheer up.  
  
The best way Harry could tell to get Hermione back to herself again is to get her involved. So as soon as they got back to the Common Room, Harry discussed his idea.  
  
"I remember when Mendanbar told us not to wait until we see Vamist. Well, we might find him a lot quicker than he thinks."  
  
"What do you mean?" Daystar asked.  
  
"He didn't know we have this." Harry held up a piece of parchment.  
  
"How'd you get that back from Barty Crouch?" Hermione said.  
  
"That's not important now. The important thing is we still have it, and we can use it."  
  
"That's obviously no ordinary paper," Daystar observed. "What does it do?"  
  
"I'll show you." Harry touched his wand onto the paper and said, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." At the incantation, the page turned into the Marauder's Map.  
  
"Wow," Daystar nodded. "A map of the school? How'd you come across something like this?"  
  
"It was given to me," Harry answered. "My father helped make it. Let's see." Harry looked at the dot labeled "Severus Snape." "That's what I was wondering. I hate tampering with my father's work, but the map doesn't show whether or not someone had a staff. Daystar, is there any way you could get the map to show something like that?"  
  
"I could give it a shot." But Daystar hunched over the map all afternoon, twisting and pulling invisible strings, but nothing seemed to work.  
  
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say Professor Snape didn't have a staff anymore," Daystar muttered sleepily. "Why don't we try another approach?"  
  
"What do you suggest?" Ron asked.  
  
"Well, maybe some kind of an alert. Whenever there's a staff at work or if Vamist is in the area, it beeps or flashes or something."  
  
"Wouldn't that blow the secret?" Hermione cried.  
  
"Maybe, but I can't think of much else. We might have to work quickly."  
  
"Alright. How can we get it to sense Vamist?" Harry asked.  
  
"Er, that's a good question," Daystar said unconfidently. "We might as well talk to Telemain. I mean, we need to anyway, unless Father got him on the magic mirror first."  
  
So Harry put the map up his sleeve, and the four of them headed up to Telemain's office. It was quite interesting, all crowded with various magical items that Telemain was researching. Several were glowing or fizzing or under a cage. Harry didn't really have too long to look around though.  
  
"Daystar, Hermione!" Telemain said as they came in. "Why so rushed?"  
  
"Telemain," Daystar said, "please tell us what you know about black magic."  
  
Telemain jumped, startled. "Why do you want to know?"  
  
"We don't want to learn them, that's for sure. But we need information."  
  
Telemain still looked reluctant, but when Daystar and the others explained about Vamist, Telemain's face filled with disgust.  
  
"Well, I understand," Telemain nodded. "I remember how unpleasant his father was. It would do well to know the enemy. However, I'm afraid there's little I can tell you."  
  
"I thought you studied every kind of magic!" Hermione cried.  
  
"I never claimed that. I did study such magic, but only at a glance. Once I realized what it was, I got as far away from that knowledge that I could."  
  
"How come?"  
  
"Hermione, every researcher, no matter what he or she researches or develops, comes across a moment when the question changes from 'Can we?' to 'Should we?' For instance, those with black magic can wake the dead. Yes, it's a very powerful, impressive spell, but do we need the dead to wake? Besides, nearly all the time, the magic comes at a terrible price. Usually, the spells call for blood or human sacrifice. In my opinion, such measures are not necessary for just an impressive spell."  
  
"I think I understand," Daystar nodded. "But they are impressive?"  
  
"Yes. I have seen a few. The magic is very flashy, yet often it is on the brink of frightening to watch. Perhaps our greatest advantage is the time frame. The greatest spells of the dark arks take long to develop, sometimes even months. Nearly every time, the spells are performed at midnight under a full moon, sometimes when the stars are just right. Then again, there are some performed during a full eclipse. I heard a particularly dark wizard came to power during such an eclipse centuries ago."  
  
"Well, if you can't tell us much, could we please have your permission to investigate the restricted section of the library?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Hermes, I don't think that will be necessary," Daystar said.  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Yeah. I think we have enough info. Thanks Telemain!"  
  
"Anytime," Telemain nodded as they went out.  
  
"What are you thinking, Daystar?" Harry asked.  
  
"Simple. We need to watch the map at night. If we see the wizards or Vamist, we call Father and take action."  
  
"But staying up past midnight?" Ron said. "I don't think I could take that on a regular basis."  
  
"Especially with exams just around the corner," Hermione reminded.  
  
"We don't have to take the O.W.L.s, but we still have exams? That sounds really backward to me."  
  
"Our pets are rather nocturnal," Daystar suggested. "They could take turns watching. They probably can't read, but I can fix that."  
  
"And we could put them underneath the Invisibility Cloak to prevent unwanted attention," Ron suggested.  
  
"You have an Invisibility Cloak?"  
  
"Yeah, it was my Dad's."  
  
"Wow, your father must have been clever when it came to magic."  
  
"Yeah," Ron agreed. "We just have to make sure we never use Pig. That stupid bird will keep the whole dormitory up!"  
  
They put their plan into action that night. Harry also owled a letter to Sirius, who promptly owled him back to say he had his full support and that he would be nearby if Harry needed help. Not much had come out of it for a long time. There were no more attacks by the Society of Wizards. Snape never made any indication about his staff or his new occupation. Vamist was obviously still preparing for what he needed to do, because he never showed up.  
  
Around Valentine's Day, Harry almost felt the threat had passed. DADA proved him wrong.  
  
None of the teachers (besides Lockhart on Harry's second year) ever recognized the existence of the holiday, and Harry felt fine that way. He somehow thought Morwen would change that, since she and Telemain were married. He came into the DADA room, grumbling as he watched lots of his friends giggling, chatting, and passing love notes.  
  
"Settle down, everyone." Morwen had entered the room. Everyone looked at her in shock. She didn't greet them with her cheerful good morning, like she had done each time before. Harry was concerned. Morwen looked washed out. Her skin was pale, her eyes had circles under them, and her ginger hair that was usually pulled in a neat bun had tangled strands hanging out. As she called the roll, she rubbed her temple as though she had a headache. When she finished, she pulled out a bunch of papers, straightened them, coughed, cleared her throat, and looked nervously around her. She struggled getting her papers together, then finally gave up and pulled out one of Harry's own textbooks, "Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them."  
  
"Today," she said anxiously, "we will be looking at the Chizpurfle. They are tiny parasites, smaller than an inch high. They look like crabs with fangs. They feed on magic. Often they attach themselves to the epidermis of magical creatures, or they can attack wands or dirty cauldrons. They also attack muggle electric appliances, causing newly bought appliances to fail to work. They are easily destroyed with some over-the-counter potions, but Chizpurfles swollen on too much magic are hard to fight. For severe infestations, contact, um, some department, you probably know which one."  
  
Morwen then looked up from her notes and turned her attention to the class. "So, uh, you see, Chizpurfles are a huge problem if left unchecked. Any questions?"  
  
Seamus raised his hand. "Is that what happened to the Quidditch equipment? They were attacked by Chizpurfles?"  
  
"No, I, I don't think so. Yes, Neville?"  
  
"Then what did happen?"  
  
"Forgive me, I cannot discuss that at this time. Lavender?"  
  
"Have wizards and witches ever been hosts for Chizpurfles before?"  
  
Morwen paused for a long time, then flipped through the book and through her notes. Finally, she looked up hopelessly. "I don't know," she whispered.  
  
Everyone mumbled uncomfortably. Morwen shook her head and started passing out pieces or parchment. "Telemain and I got together this worksheet on Chizpurfles. Use your texts to answer the questions, and come to me if you ever need help. When you are finished, turn it in and sit quietly until the bell rings. You can whisper, you can pass notes, I don't care, just as long as you are quiet. All right? Begin."  
  
Everyone got out quills and started working. As Harry answered the first question, a loud thud startled him. Morwen banged her head on her desk. She stayed that way until the end of class. Harry hoped she was sleeping a little. She looked as though she needed it.  
  
After the bell rang, the class moved out quietly to their next class. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Daystar went straight to Morwen's desk.  
  
"Alright, Morwen?" Ron asked.  
  
Morwen turned her head over and groaned. "I'm fine, Kazul. Quit fussing, you have better things to do."  
  
"Morwen," Harry said as he touched her arm.  
  
Morwen woke up with a start. "Oh! Oh dear! I wasn't sleeping, was I?"  
  
"Like a baby," Ron nodded.  
  
"Oh no! He'll have my head on a platter now."  
  
"Who?" Harry asked.  
  
"Severus." Morwen sighed, and leaned over whispering, "He's evaluating me even as we speak."  
  
"What does he have with you?" Daystar questioned.  
  
"We had a little chat last evening. He said I was a pitiful teacher, that I don't know the first thing about the Dark Arts (let alone how to defend against them), and that the work I had been giving you thus far is merely busy work!" Morwen almost looked like she was going to cry.  
  
Harry frowned. "What are you doing, letting him push you around like that?"  
  
"Well, I didn't at first. I thanked him for his opinion but I couldn't understand why it was so negative. Every other teacher has given me praise. Dumbledore even says I'm teaching him a few things he didn't know. But Severus said, 'Of course you're teaching him. You're from a different world, and things work differently over there. What good will that do for the students when they encounter those same things in this world. I seriously doubt that a few polite words will save a student from being eaten by a dragon.'  
  
"I tried to argue from there, but he wouldn't let me. He said that if I didn't teach about a dangerous, magical creature from this dreamension, he would give me a dismal evaluation. He also warned me not to let class out early. He said it was a mark of poor teaching. So anyhow, Telemain and I spent all night researching a creature I thought would be simple. I had no idea the students would equate it with the Society of Wizards' attacks. I wanted to tell them what was going on, but I didn't know what to say while Severus was watching. I just didn't feel comfortable with this, teaching something I had never even heard of before."  
  
"Then don't!" Harry cried. "Morwen, you're right. Every teacher I ever heard talk about you (well, besides Snape) say your name with a smile. They love you. I'm sure whatever Snape says about you will fade out compared to everyone else's praise."  
  
"But Severus is my superior, and he knows more about the subject than I do."  
  
"That doesn't mean he's right," Hermione answered. "I mean, Telemain knows more about magic than you do, but I bet you don't think he's correct in all of his theories."  
  
"Well, yes, you have a point, but still--"  
  
"Morwen, don't you see?" Ron said. "Snape is jealous!"  
  
"Jealous? What for?"  
  
"You have his dream job. You can do magic without a wand, quite well I might add. And you're married. From what I've seen, I think he fancies you, and he doesn't want to admit it. But he's mad because he can't have any of that. And he's discouraged with you getting after him for having that staff."  
  
"Not to mention, he probably had some conversations with that Vamist person," Hermione added.  
  
Morwen looked at Hermione bewildered. "Arona Michaelear Grinogion Vamist?"  
  
"The Second," everyone else said at once.  
  
"He has a son?"  
  
"Didn't Telemain tell you?" Daystar said.  
  
"Oh, oh yeah! Sorry if I seem out of it. You know, I'm not quite myself today. He would complicate things."  
  
"If I remember correctly, Queen Cimorene said you and the original Vamist had a lot of problems," Harry said.  
  
Morwen scoffed. "That's putting it lightly. He nearly convinced my fellow witches to throw me out of their garden club. He wanted me to dispose of all my cats. I'm glad he's not around. I'd probably be persecuted."  
  
"How come?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Well, I'm even less traditional now than I was then. I'm married. Traditional witches are supposed to live as hermits. What would Vamist be trying to do to me? This is exactly why I love this school. It is far from traditional. You're not encouraged to be all warty and cackle just the right way. You wear robes just because they're nice and uniform, but otherwise you wear whatever you want. You're given several aspects of magic to consider. You even have magical sports and games. Magic is almost never use for entertainment where I'm from, except if you want to put on a show. Why would Severus listen to him? Is Vamist trying to do something through Severus to me?"  
  
Daystar's eyes grew as wide as saucers. "Come on, guys. We don't want to be late for our next class." He started to run out the door, but then stopped and looked back at Morwen. "Oh, by the way, happy Valentine's Day Morwen!"  
  
Morwen blinked and gave him an odd look. "It's Valentine's Day?"  
  
"Yes. Maybe you and Telemain should go out and do something fun tonight at Hogsmead."  
  
"We probably should. Maybe we could take Minerva and Albus with us."  
  
Daystar nodded and once again bolted out the door. The others rushed to keep up.  
  
"We still have plenty of time until Potions," Ron said. "What's the deal?"  
  
"It just hit me," Daystar said. "From all I heard about the Society of Wizards, when they think revenge, they think big. Kidnapping, stealing, trapping--Antorell even summoned a demon on us."  
  
"Who's Antorell?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Well, you know Zemenar. He was Headwizard since before Mother met Father, then Kazul ate him before I was born. Antorell was his son. He caused a lot of trouble when I was on my quest."  
  
"What happened to him?" Ron asked.  
  
"Well, he summoned the demon after I rescued father and was recognized by the forest as a prince. So I used my new magic ability to send the demon back, and I sent Antorell along with him."  
  
"Good night!" Hermione cried. "Maybe you really are the devil." Ron and Harry laughed, but Daystar didn't.  
  
"This is bad. If Vamist has teamed up once again with the Society of Wizards, they might be thinking about revenge. And who turned the original Vamist into a flying blue donkey?"  
  
Everyone stopped and looked at Daystar in fear.  
  
"Maybe Vamist is doing something through Professor Snape. He could be trying to make Morwen tired, weak, and forgetful so that when Vamist or the Society of Wizards show up she will be taken completely unaware of what they are doing."  
  
Harry was shocked. Morwen was in real danger. 


	12. In Which the Society of Wizards Rises Ag...

Chapter 12: In Which the Society of Wizards Rises Again  
  
Morwen and Telemain must have figured that out as well. They both kept their distance from Snape. Harry saw Morwen always tried to get a seat next to Dumbledore at the staff table. She spent nearly all of her time outside the classroom with Professor McGonagall. Telemain, meanwhile, was pouring over books. Even as he was eating, he was reading "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" quite intently. Hermione reported that he was spending a lot of time researching similar books in the library, not talking to anyone. He also was seen having conversations with Hagrid a lot. It was strange seeing two people from two completely different worlds standing together like that. Hermione guessed that he was trying to find new material for Morwen's class, but Harry had a better idea once he snatched a bit of conversation between Morwen and Professor McGonagall.  
  
"You should become a cat," Professor McGonagall told her. "They're rather smart, and you're so much a cat person."  
  
"Exactly. They'd suspect that. I'd love to be a cat, but I want to be inconspicuous. I was thinking maybe a raccoon? They're clean and rather motherly."  
  
"That would work, except they're aren't many raccoons in England."  
  
Morwen was strongly considering becoming an Animagus. Harry thought that was good thinking. She could hide from the wizards and Vamist that way. It seemed Telemain wanted her to become a magic creature, but she wanted to be more normal. In the end, Harry figured only time would tell what they would do.  
  
Months rolled on by. No attacks occurred. Snape still had his staff well hidden. Morwen gained her confidence back and was teaching the lighthearted way she usually did. Still, the school wasn't allowed to do magic. And exams were on their way.  
  
Each teacher had to give some sort of written exam. Morwen was most disappointed. She wanted to use her exam for the class to investigate the Forbidden Forest, or at least a cave system just off the school property. She ended up making a multiple-choice test with a creative essay question. Harry didn't know which exam was harder, Potions or History of Magic. It was the night of the final exam day when it happened.  
  
"Harry! Harry!" Something was tickling Harry's face. He woke to find Hedwig flapping her wings around his head.  
  
"What is it girl?" Harry asked.  
  
"I just saw on the map. Vamist is in the Forbidden Forest, and he's heading up to the school!"  
  
Harry quickly got up, put his robes and glasses on, and started waking up the others. Daystar shook Genie awake. "Quickly, go to Morwen and Telemain's room. Tell them Vamist is here. They'll contact Father on the magic mirror. Then, hopefully, they'll come help us."  
  
Harry grabbed the Invisibility Cloak and the map. Ron and Hermione joined him underneath his cloak, but when Daystar got in Harry could see their feet sticking out on an adjacent mirror.  
  
"This isn't going to work," he told Daystar. "You're much too tall."  
  
"Sorry." He got out. "That's all right, I have my own ways of being invisible." He pulled something around his hilt and disappeared.  
  
"Can you see us?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Ooh, case in point. I can sense the magic of the cloak and the map, but we can still get lost. Here." Harry thought he felt something fall on the cloak's fabric, but he couldn't see what. "I'll tie this to my finger. You all lead the way, but don't go too fast."  
  
Daystar managed for them to get out of the common room without going through the portrait door. Harry watched the map. "Strange. He's going to the third floor, toward that corridor that was forbidden when the Sorcerer's Stone was here."  
  
"You don't think it's still forbidden?" Ron asked.  
  
"Can't be. Now that the stone is gone, there would be no reason to keep those enchantments around. Then again, we haven't been out there lately, so I don't know if I can really say."  
  
"Even if they are, we know how to get past them," Hermione said.  
  
The front door to the corridor was locked, but Fluffy wasn't there. Where the trapdoor used to be was a stairway. And at the base of the stairway was the Mirror of Erised. Harry stopped in his tracks.  
  
"Harry, what are you doing?" Ron hissed.  
  
"Well, I just wanted to see Mum and Dad real quick. Just to get a little confidence."  
  
"Mum and Dad?" Daystar repeated. "Mother and Father aren't there."  
  
"You're king, aren't you?" Ron said.  
  
"No, no I'm not," Daystar said. "So strange."  
  
Hermione, meanwhile, looked into the mirror and began to weep quietly.  
  
"What's wrong, Hermione?" Ron asked, but she shook her head.  
  
Though the others couldn't see him, Daystar stared at the mirror, dazed. Harry heard him whisper, "Magic mirror, reveal to me these strange visions that I see."  
  
"Go, Harry, go!" Hermione cried, pushing him forward.  
  
Harry nodded. He peered at the mirror just enough to see each member of his family give him an encouraging nod as if to say, "Good luck."  
  
The four made their way down the corridor to the spacious room where the Mirror of Erised used to stand. Now there was a man standing in the middle, setting up some kind of magical equipment while chanting something in a language Harry didn't understand. He wore the same billowing robes as Snape's. He almost looked like Snape, but younger. He had many tattoos on his face and arms, and he wore a sinister look. There was something in the air that made Harry scared, like when he faced Voldemort the last time but not quite as strong. Suddenly, he shrieked and poured something upon the ground.  
  
The room went icy. Something white and bubbly was spilling out from the floor. The man basked into the white light coming from the unseen source in the earth. Then, something came out of the floor and hovered in the air. It was a ghost. Harry recognized him from the chocolate frog card-- Zemenar. He was followed by another ghost, one who looked much like Zemenar but much younger.  
  
Harry remembered Telemain said black magic could raise the dead. He had no idea that this was what Vamist was really intending to do.  
  
"Welcome to Hogwarts, honorable leaders of the Society of the Wizards," Vamist said bowing.  
  
"You are rather slow, Vamist," Zemenar frowned. "There are only a few days of school left."  
  
"The ingredients for this spell were hard to come by. Besides, it will be best if we do it when the students are carefree and unsuspecting." Vamist glared. "We are not alone."  
  
Harry held his breath.  
  
"Of course not," the younger wizard answered. "Our flesh brother is due to come soon to be inducted."  
  
"Yes, and he shall be here soon, but there is a bystander." Vamist yelled something and turned a ring on his hand. Daystar appeared.  
  
"Mendanbar!" Zemenar yelled. "How could you have escaped?"  
  
"That's not Mendanbar," Antorell said irritated. "That's his good-for- nothing son."  
  
"How could he have had a son where he was?"  
  
"We both neglected to notice that the Queen was expecting, a fatal error."  
  
"Yes, an error easily remedied."  
  
"Calm down. We have things to do," Vamist ordered them sharply. Then, he looked in Harry's direction and smiled. "And they're about to get much simpler. For I see yet another bystander. His scar glows like a beacon, even underneath that cloak of darkness."  
  
Harry gasped. Vamist somehow could see through his invisibility cloak. He stood still, not sure what to do, when Vamist reached him and tore the cloak off.  
  
"You know this young man?" Vamist said to the specters. "This is the boy we have come to visit."  
  
"Oh yes," Antorell nodded. "That man who helped resurrect us last time will be so pleased. What was his name again?"  
  
"It started with a 'V.' Vulture?" Zemenar thought.  
  
"Idiots!" Vamist screamed. "How dare you deny the name of the greatest dark wizard since Faust? Voldemort." He spoke the name in an awed whisper. Ron and Hermione gasped. Daystar put his hand over his mouth, possibly suppressing a chuckle. Harry simply looked back in shock.  
  
"You came only for me? Not Morwen, not the rest of the school, but me?"  
  
"Well, the rest of it is icing on the cake, but you are the main reason boy. When I heard of the true power of the Lake of Weeping Dreamers, I used it for my own advantage. I came to this world, to see what there was to see. By chance, I ran into Wormtail and the Master of Masters. They wanted to kill me, but once they heard where I was from, they wanted to learn how to invade Australia with that powerful Minister of Magic. I told them about the Society of Wizards who had been so helpful to my father. They thought the idea was perfect."  
  
"What for? To weaken me so he could kill me next time we meet?"  
  
"Oh no. You know that a little essence of Voldemort slipped into your soul on your first encounter. We're not here to steal it but to take it back and to give it to its rightful owner."  
  
"What do you mean? I know he still has those gifts."  
  
"Most of them. He's still a Parselmouth, but you still possess a few of those gifts that used to make the master truly great. We tried easy ways to get it back. We created that Zemenar trading card and rigged the cart so that you would get it, but that wretched Morwen destroyed the card. We resurrected Antorell, made him a staff, and sent him to the Quidditch game so he could take your magic when it was at its peak. Yet again, he was interrupted. In the end, we knew we had to get someone Voldemort trusted, a hand of flesh within the school walls. Someone who is easily manipulated. Someone who has great ambition that can be molded to our purposes. Someone who already has a great disgust for you."  
  
As Vamist spoke, another person entered the room. He wore brown robes with the hood up and was carrying a long, polished staff. Vamist smiled as he looked up at the new man. "And here he is now."  
  
The man walked closer to the ghosts. "Don't do this, Professor," Daystar said. "You'll regret it. I respect you. I don't want to call forces from home against. Please, Professor Snape, do not do this!"  
  
But as the man threw off the hood on his robe, Harry was amazed to see once again that he put the blame on Snape wrongfully.  
  
"Welcome, brother Argus," Zemenar nodded.  
  
The caretaker of the castle bowed before the ghosts and Vamist.  
  
"Filch?" Harry, Ron, and Hermione whispered together.  
  
"This can't be," Harry said hoarsely. "We all saw Snape with the staff. We saw how excited he was to be the new Headwizard."  
  
"Yes, Severus was our first choice," Vamist answered. "He showed much promise. Yet, when we met him just a few weeks after Christmas, he got cold feet. 'I do not want to lose the rapport I have with Telemain and Morwen. They clearly do not like this. I feel rather insecure about what you wish for me to do. I could lose my job, permanently. Then there was the anger of my own student Prince Daystar.'" Vamist shook his head. "Wimp."  
  
"This isn't like You-Know-Who!" Ron yelled. "He's definitely anti-muggle, and we know Filch is a Squib."  
  
"A what?" Daystar answered.  
  
"He was born into a wizard family but has no magical power of his own," Harry explained.  
  
"This wasn't Voldemort's decision, it was mine!" Vamist yelled. "We didn't have any other alternative! Voldemort didn't want to risk losing his own magic. I couldn't take the staff because of the profession I chose. It was either Snape or Filch, and since Snape didn't want to--"  
  
"Now that story doesn't make any sense at all," Daystar said. "What would Professor Snape care about my opinion? He dislikes me, and he goes out of his way to show it every class period. The more polite and diplomatic I tried to be, the nastier he got! He even called me the devil!"  
  
"All a pretense," Filch answered.  
  
Daystar looked at him in surprise. "Mr. Filch. You do talk. I was beginning to wonder."  
  
"Silence!" Filch ordered. "Severus spoke to us faculty privately. That first day when you had that talk with him, he admired that. You showed great ambition, and that is what he respects. You know that; he is head of Slytherin house after all. He only pushed you so hard because he believed it would make you better. He was a fool to fall for your hypocritical system."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Yes, I saw through it all the day you first came to Hogwarts. That's how all you royalty are. You appear to be good and friendly, but you're corrupt. It is no point making friends with you. You call your friends in for favors, and when they need help you abandon them."  
  
"It's not true!" Daystar answered shaking his head. "I'm trying my hardest not to be this way.  
  
"Oh, but it is true. It's always true."  
  
"This isn't the issue though," Harry cried. "Why are you doing this?"  
  
Filch turned and glared at Harry. "Why? I thought to you that it would be the clearest why. All my life I've been among wizards. I've seen them do wonderful, delightful things. Yet every time I held a wand, it went dead in my hands. They called me a Squib, an ugly name. Dumbledore insulted me by giving me a job here. I remained among wizards, daily reminded of what I could not have. But now, I can take my own power. Now I can do magic beyond anything I have ever dreamed. No more useless Kwickspells for me. This staff does it all. And now, I go from nothing to the greatest wizard of all. Now I will be the head of a very powerful society of wizards."  
  
"And you shall be Headwizard," Vamist answered. "All that remains for you to do is to take the magic out of this boy."  
  
"With pleasure." Filch gave a quick flick with his staff. Ropes flew out of the tip and tied Harry to a column against the wall. Ron, Hermione, and Daystar were similarly tied. Filch walked toward the boy with a twisted smile.  
  
"There is no escape, Potter. Your powers are mine." 


	13. In Which an Unusual Battle Ensues

Chapter 13: In Which an Unusual Battle Ensues  
  
As Filch drew closer, Harry felt that harsh pull out of his soul once again. Filch smiled even wider as he watched Harry suffer. "This is indeed my greatest dream come true. You, who should have been expelled dozens of times, have always been over-glorified because of that fluke when you were little. Now, you're finally getting what you're due, Potter. Just like a hard-working bumblebee gathers the fruits of his labor from a small flower, so I shall--"  
  
"Achoo!" Ron interrupted.  
  
Filch frowned. "For goodness sakes, Weasley, cover your mouth!"  
  
"I--achoo!--wud if--achoo!--I cud--achoo!--move my--achoo!--hads."  
  
"Oh, very well." Filch loosened the ropes on Harry's friends, but he made another spell (before Daystar could stop him) that made them unable to move. "There."  
  
"Argus, what are you doing?" Antorell said impatiently.  
  
"I don't want to get spittle and mucus on my new robes!"  
  
"Then why don't you just gag him and pinch his nose?" Vamist yelled.  
  
"You may not have a problem with killing him, but I do. Now, where were we? Of course." He walked toward Harry again. The staff's tip began to glow blue. More magic was pulling straight out of Harry. The closer Filch got, the more pain Harry felt, especially in his scar.  
  
It all happened within a fraction of a second. Daystar grabbed the hilt of his sword.  
  
Ron sneezed really hard again, setting his hair on fire.  
  
Hermione raised her hand quickly and defensively.  
  
Harry blinked tightly, preparing for the worst.  
  
BANG! Harry opened his eyes. Filch's staff remained only as a few large, wooden splinters on the ground. Filch looked in shock all around him, trying to complain but only speaking in gibberish.  
  
"What happened?" Harry whispered.  
  
"I don't know," Hermione replied. "It just . . . exploded."  
  
"Well," Ron said confidently, "whatever I was allergic to, I think I finally got it out."  
  
"What's that smell?" Hermione looked around. "It smells like burnt cinnamon."  
  
Harry turned to Ron and cried out. "Whoa! Ron, what's with your nose?"  
  
"What?" Ron asked. Then he saw. Smoke was filtering out of his nose. "Wow! That's never happened before!"  
  
Filch finally found his tongue. "YOU TRICKED ME!" he yelled at Vamist. "No one tricks Argus Filch!"  
  
"Nonsense," Vamist replied casually.  
  
"Nonsense? You gave me a defective staff, and you know it!"  
  
"The staff was fine. You should have gone for the boy and only the boy. You tried to absorb magic from the firewitch, didn't you?"  
  
"Firewitch? What firewitch?"  
  
"The one with his hair on fire, of course! Don't you know anything about firewitches?"  
  
"What? Dumbledore let into his school countless firewitches during his administration? He's a lunatic! But firewitches have an ample amount of magic. The more magic I can get, the better, right?"  
  
"That's just it. They have too much magic. The staff can't absorb it all, and that's why it exploded."  
  
Meanwhile, since the staff exploded, Filch's freeze spells were broken. So Daystar and Hermione were helping Harry untie his ropes. Filch was too busy arguing that he didn't notice.  
  
"So what should we do with this firewitch?" Filch asked.  
  
"Well, he's immune to magic so a spell won't do much good."  
  
"But I just--"  
  
"Easy, Argus. We can still knock him out physically."  
  
"But--"  
  
"Argelfraster!"  
  
Filch and Vamist turned to see Harry with his wand brandished. Nothing happened.  
  
"No magic in the corridors, Potter," Filch sneered.  
  
Ron ignored him. "Yeah, Argelfraster!" he yelled flinging his wand. Still nothing. "What makes this stupid charm work?"  
  
"Argelfraster!" Hermione cried out at last. Filch started sinking slowly.  
  
"What is this?" Filch cried in despair.  
  
"Didn't they tell you when you signed up?" Daystar chuckled. "Once you take up the staff, you could encounter the uncomfortable circumstance of melting."  
  
Vamist shrugged. "It's not permanent."  
  
"I've been through it about a million times. I got through it ok," Antorell said.  
  
Filch glared at him. Then he stared at Harry. "You will regret this, Potter! Mark my words, you will!" Then, he was nothing more than a brown puddle of muck.  
  
Harry gazed up at Hermione. "How did you do that?"  
  
Hermione shrugged. "It's magic, of course."  
  
"But you're not even holding a wand!"  
  
Ron gasped. Hermione only looked around uncomfortably. "Oops," she finally said. She pulled her wand out of her sleeve and pointed around defensively at the foes. "Argelfraster!" she yelled again. Nothing happened the first few times that she said the charm. "All right then. We'll take the long way home. Aqua Viscoso Limon!" Sudsy water shot out of Hermione's wand as though it were a water gun. She aimed it at the ghosts and at Vamist. All it accomplished, however, was that it put out Ron's hair.  
  
"That's what I like about being a ghost," Zemenar smiled. "We never get wet."  
  
"I'm not of the Society, foolish girl," Vamist sneered. "Besides, I have several anti-melt charms about me. Now, young man, if you want to move a few steps ahead, then we'll go. And we will take more than just your powers."  
  
Vamist looked slyly at the remains of Filch's staff. "I learned a very important lesson in my apprentice days: never break an enchanted piece of wood." He started whispering and twisting a ring, and each piece of wood turned into a miniature staff. Some splinters broke in two again before becoming another staff, until there were hundreds. Then Vamist went to the same spot where Zemenar and Antorell came out of the floor and chanted again. Countless ghosts came out of the floor, each wearing robes like Zemenar and Antorell's. No doubt this was the entire society.  
  
Vamist raised his arms. Each staff rose above his head and reached a ghost. "Surround the boy! Don't let him get away!"  
  
As the ghosts crowded around Harry, a great yell was heard. "Oh no you don't!" Daystar ran out in front of him with his sword drawn. "You try to come near any of these kids, and I'll stop you!"  
  
"We're not kids anymore!" Ron growled.  
  
One wizard laughed. "You're sword cannot kill that which is already dead."  
  
"Oh, I'm not going to use it that way."  
  
The wizards each tried knocking him out of the way with a spell, but each time he struck his sword out and absorbed the spell. So much magic was building around the blade, it started to hum and glow. Daystar was starting to get worn out. "Come on, Father. Where are you when I need you?" he whispered.  
  
"Mew," a small voice said. Daystar looked back to see a tiny pink kitten directly behind him.  
  
"Genie! What are you doing here?"  
  
"What's that you're hiding, hero?" Antorell picked up poor Genie by the tail.  
  
"YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!" Genie screamed.  
  
"What's going on?" a voice cried. "Hey! Put the kitten down!"  
  
It was Peeves. Antorell scoffed. "Or what?"  
  
"You want a piece of me? Huh?" Peeves held up his hands in fisticuffs. "Nobody touches the Queen of Beauty without my say in the matter. Put 'em up man!"  
  
Antorell rolled his eyes.  
  
"Come on! You chicken?" Peeves proceeded to flap his arms and make chicken noises.  
  
"You want to take me on? Fine. But just notice that you're rather outnumbered."  
  
"All right then." Peeves whistled, and all the other ghosts of Hogwarts castle appeared behind him.  
  
"What do you want at this hour, Peeves?" the Bloody Baron growled. "It better be good!"  
  
"It is. Look, we've been invaded! They mean nothing but trouble, they do!" He made a trumpeting sound of a call to arms in his fists. "Charge!"  
  
Harry didn't know why they bothered, but most of the ghosts went in right away to fight. The Fat Friar and the Grey Lady were the only ones who refused to join in. Harry couldn't really tell how it was going, but he noticed when Nearly Headless Nick was kicked out.  
  
"Oh, Nicholas!" the Grey Lady cried. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Ah, milady, I've never been better, since I died anyhow. Whoo! This takes me back to the old days! The Headless Hunt has nothing on this!"  
  
"Daystar!" Mendanbar's voice cried. He and Cimorene had just entered the room. "Sorry we're late. We couldn't find where you were right away."  
  
"It's Mendanbar!" Zemenar yelled. "Get him!"  
  
The ghosts zoomed over in Mendanbar's direction, but he socked them in the jaw.  
  
"What?" cried one wizard. "How could you do that?"  
  
"I'm the one who's asleep here," Mendanbar grinned. "This is my dreamension. My mind's in control, and I can do whatever I want."  
  
The wizards didn't know how to answer to this, so they continued to attack.  
  
Quite suddenly during the battle, a ginger-feathered owl flew in from out of nowhere and started scratching Vamist's face with it's talons. "Ouch! Get off!" He shot a spell at the owl, but it missed. He looked angrily at Harry. "Why do you keep owls? What use are they to you? It's the stupidest thing I ever heard of!"  
  
"Then send us letters from wizard to wizard," Harry answered. "Since they fly at night, they aren't usually noticed by muggles. It's convenient!"  
  
Vamist snorted. "You hypocrites! You hide from those who are lesser than you like scared, little mice do. You use all your powers for sports and to send letters. Why don't you take a stand? You could be helping kings! You could be ruling! I'll show you what good your feather dusters are!"  
  
This time, he took careful aim at the owl, but when he said the spell, only a few sparks came out of his ring. He shook it a few times and tried again. It only frizzled and shocked his hand. "What's wrong with this stupid ring?"  
  
"That's the least of your worries!" Cimorene came to him holding up what looked like a golden figurine of a dragon. "This is a whistle. You call off your army, or I'll blow this whistle and you'll have a whole army of dragons to deal with."  
  
Vamist only grinned. "I had a feeling your son would try that. That's why I brought plenty of this." He reached into his robes and pulled out a bunch of purple leaves.  
  
Ron gasped and started backing away toward the wall.  
  
"What's the matter?" Harry said.  
  
"I don't know, but I don't like that plant," Ron answered nervously.  
  
Daystar caught a glimpse of it. "Dragonsbane!" he yelled angrily. He abandoned his fight and charged toward Vamist. "I should cut off your hand for that!"  
  
Vamist kept trying to make his ring work, but it still wasn't doing anything. So when Daystar attack, he fought him physically. He pinched Daystar in the back of his neck, and the prince fell down unconscious. The sword fell out of his hands.  
  
"Daystar!" Harry yelled.  
  
"Son!" Mendanbar rushed over to where the prince lay and reached for the sword. Yet before he could touch the hilt, he disappeared.  
  
"What happened?" Harry cried to Cimorene.  
  
"Oh no, he awoke. I got to go back, make sure he'll fall asleep again." So saying, the queen also disappeared.  
  
Hermione rushed over to Daystar. "Enervate," she said, pointing her wand at his chest. Nothing happened.  
  
"Put your wand away!" Harry cried. "You don't want it to be nothing but a useless toothpick, do you?"  
  
"But Daystar's the only one who can wield the sword, and that's the only thing that can counter the wizards' magic!"  
  
"There's no time to lose!" Vamist yelled. "Circle the boy! Take every ounce of magic he has in him! Do it now!"  
  
Hermione shook Daystar's body. "Come on, wake up!" she cried frantically. Daystar remained out cold.  
  
Harry looked at Daystar's unconscious body, looked at Ron still against the wall, looked at the gathering ghosts, looked at Vamist's twisted grin. It reminded him of the time he was up against all those dementors. He needed his patronus in the worst way, but if he tried to conjure it they would absorb it into their staffs. There was only one thing to do.  
  
He ran straight for the sword on the floor. "Harry, what are you doing?" Hermione screamed. The owl started hooting furiously, flapping its wings in a sharp, cutting motion and shaking its head.  
  
But Harry wouldn't stop. "If I don't do it, no one will," he said sharply. He knelt down and picked up the sword.  
  
At first, he thought he grabbed the blade instead of the hilt. A sharp pain cut into his hands like he had never felt before. It was like he was holding a bolt of lightning. It shocked him all down his arms and burned in his hands. He screamed, even cried a little. Yet something in the back of his mind was crying, "Bite the bullet, Harry. Don't let go."  
  
The wizards seemed undaunted. They continued to gather around him, their staffs glowing. Vamist continued to grin satisfied. They must have thought he couldn't do it. He'll show them. The magic of this sword will do it, if he could stand to hold it any longer.  
  
Then, the pain in his hands didn't seem to matter anymore. The world just vanished, plunging Harry into darkness. The sword was still glowing like a beacon, but Harry couldn't see anything past it. Then Harry noticed something building around the blade. Harry didn't see it, but he could feel a tingly mesh-net ball. Harry touched it and understood. He could sense magic the way Daystar could. Then he thought he could hear voices whispering in the dark, saying, "You can do it, Harry, we know you can." Harry thought he recognized some of these voices, but he couldn't be certain.  
  
The words came out of his mouth before he understood what they were:  
  
"Power of fire, wind, and earth, Turn the spell back to its birth. Raise the force by wood and flame, And send them back from whence they came!"  
  
He pushed (there was no other way he could describe it) the mesh-net off the blade, and it let go at an enormous force. It turned into some sort of vortex that blew like a tornado around the room. All the ghosts from the Society were taken in. Harry could hear them and Vamist screaming.  
  
It wasn't until they were all gone that Harry could see clearly again. He dropped the sword and looked at his hands. They were charred, blistered, and bleeding, all the way down his arms down his arms. Exhausted, he fell and passed out. 


	14. In Which There Are a Few Answers, Some S...

Chapter 14: In Which There Are a Few Answers, Some Surprises, and a Happy Ending  
  
Harry woke up in the Hospital Wing. The first thing he saw was a pair of blue cat eyes.  
  
"'Lo, Esther." He reached up to pet the cat, but a pain shot up his arm. Madame Pomfrey must have bandaged it all up, but it still hurt.  
  
"Good, you're awake." The voice wasn't Madame Pomfrey's. It was Morwen. She sat down beside Harry's bed in a chair. "Now, you're mother is not around to lecture, so I'm going to do it for her. Harry, that was stupid."  
  
Harry blinked. What was she doing, criticizing him? "But there--"  
  
"Ah ah!" Morwen said raising her hand. "Let me finish. You should have known better than to take a magic sword that belonged to royalty. Weren't you taught that early in History of Magic?"  
  
"He should have been." Telemain also came in and stood beside Morwen. "It has been proven over and over again. The calibrations of such weaponry are so precise that if they are ever altered the enchantment matrix goes into overload and the results can be traumatic!"  
  
Harry squinted up at Telemain. "You're a lawyer, aren't you?" he said deliriously.  
  
"Worse, he's a magician," Morwen muttered.  
  
"I heard that!" Telemain said offended.  
  
"I was just kidding, honey," she said nudging his shoulder playfully. Then she looked at Harry sternly again. "What he saying is that such swords pick who wields them carefully. If anybody else tries to use them, their enchantments go haywire. You could have been killed, Harry!"  
  
"No!" Harry said.  
  
"Yes. Now, it will make you feel better, I once took that sword myself, but only for a second. Long enough to absorb a spell. I didn't hold on to it for dear life like you did."  
  
"There was no other option!" Harry cried. "Mendanbar was gone, and Daystar was out cold! It was either take the sword or become a muggle for the rest of my life. That could have killed me. On the contrary, I somehow knew if I held on to the sword, everything would be alright."  
  
"And that was the right thing to do." It was Dumbledore. Smiling, he sat beside Harry's bed in another chair. "Hello Harry. Good to see you well again."  
  
"Albus, what are you talking about?" Morwen said. "It's dangerous, and you know it."  
  
"Of course, Morwen, but this young man has taken such risk every year he has been here, and it has always been for good. Such bravery has earned Harry the trust of this school. Late last night, I felt a magic force that had once been dormant stirred once again. At first, I was afraid I would lose this force. Those wizard staffs were absorbing it. But then, I felt it center all its attention on Harry. Perhaps it would have done the same if Daystar or Mendanbar would have wielded the sword, but when Harry took it up, the school remembered all he had done. He saved the students from peril many times before. It was because of this that Harry did not die. He is a powerful wizard."  
  
"But the sword isn't connected to this school," Telemain said. "Its matrix is directed at the Enchanted Forest."  
  
"Yes, but didn't you put a spell on it to make the sword think it was in the Enchanted Forest?"  
  
"Of course," Morwen nodded. "That was to keep it from leaking magic, like it normally does if it leaves the forest."  
  
"Yes, the school worked like the Enchanted Forest for just a moment, and the sword was fooled."  
  
"Still, you're lucky that it did."  
  
Harry shook his head. "How do you know what I did with that sword anyway?"  
  
"I was there!" Morwen answered. "Didn't you figure it out? I was the owl."  
  
"You, you were?"  
  
"Yes. Minerva taught Telemain and me how to be Animagi. I decided to be an owl over here, since there were so many here anyway. I got registered and everything, but when I get home I'm going to try being a cat, a raccoon, and maybe even a dragon."  
  
"Why did you attack?"  
  
"Well, I wanted to get Vamist before he got me, and I wanted to sick Telemain on him."  
  
"Telemain? I didn't see Telemain."  
  
"That was because he was too small to see. He was a Chizpurfle."  
  
"He was? So that's why Vamist's spells wouldn't work. Telemain was eating the magic up in that ring."  
  
"Bad decision," Telemain said rubbing his stomach.  
  
"Who knew magic wouldn't agree with him?" Morwen laughed. "He was sick as soon as he transformed back."  
  
"But where's Hermione? And Ron? And Daystar?"  
  
As Harry spoke, Daystar jumped up in the bed right next to him. "Vamist!" he screamed.  
  
"Relax," Dumbledore said. "Vamist is gone. They're all gone."  
  
Daystar sighed and lay back down. "Good going Father," he muttered.  
  
"Actually, you have Harry to thank for it."  
  
Daystar wrinkled his eyebrows. "Harry? But didn't you know--"  
  
"Please, don't make me go through that again."  
  
"Oh, alright. Professor, you might want to reconsider keeping Mr. Filch as caretaker."  
  
"Mr. Filch got back together. He needed a little help. I assure you, he's a little wiser for the ware."  
  
"Aren't you gonna sack him?" Harry asked.  
  
"Harry, you know 'sacking' isn't in my nature. To paraphrase what a wise man once said, it should be punishment enough having such power and losing than to have never had it at all."  
  
Harry wasn't sure he understood this logic, but he knew Dumbledore wouldn't change his mind. He kept quiet.  
  
Ron and Hermione came in. They were glad to see Harry all right, but they had a few questions to ask.  
  
"How exactly did Filch's staff explode?" Ron asked. "Was it only me?"  
  
"No," Dumbledore smiled. "It was a team effort. The staff couldn't cope with Harry's powerful magic."  
  
"Please. I'm not that powerful," Harry huffed. "Magic is almost impossible. I struggle with Transfiguration, Potions, and even the most basic Charms. The only thing I'm really good it is flying."  
  
"You are a powerful wizard," Dumbledore nodded. "As I understand, you best display your power when you are anxious, and I imagine you were quite anxious right then. And Daystar was probably saying a spell."  
  
"Actually, I was just about to," Daystar explained. "But the sword doesn't like wizard magic. Maybe it worked on its own."  
  
"Perhaps. And Ron is--"  
  
"A firewitch," Ron interrupted. "I figured it out. The burning hair, the short temper, how can anybody not see? I'm a firewitch."  
  
"Well, that could be a possibility," Dumbledore nodded. "Actually, you are part dragon."  
  
Ron blinked. "What?"  
  
"Yes. I suspected since I first took a good look at your brothers. You know I researched dragon blood for years. In my research, I learned some interesting things about your family. Back in the Middle Ages, dragon's blood was used as a remedy for nearly every ailment. The Weasleys were huge dealers in the dragon blood business, and they also used it on a regular basis themselves. They did so for decades, until the magic counsel decided it was not as useful for that purpose as they thought. The remedy was little more than a placebo. Yet, I discovered that those who take dragon blood for such a prolonged period of time tend to have the dragon blood mixed with their own. It's drawn to your own magic and gives you a very unique, dragon-like magic. And it remains hereditary."  
  
"So, what did it do?"  
  
"Well, dragon flame resides in your hair and your sinus cavity. Dragon blood circulates through your heart and mind, making you quick and sharp. You family have used this quick thinking in different ways, for intellect, for mischief, even for temper. But I imagine it is why all Weasleys have ended up in Gryffindor. Who is braver than a dragon?"  
  
"But what happens now? Am I going to grow wings and scales and breathe fire?"  
  
"If the Weasleys still were dragon blood dealers, I imagine you would. But you no longer do, so I wouldn't worry about it."  
  
"What about Hermione?" Harry asked. "She used her magic without a wand. How is that even possible?"  
  
Dumbledore only smiled. "I think she should tell you that."  
  
Hermione sighed. "All right. I didn't want to because I thought it would sound like I was bragging, and I felt I didn't have all the facts. But I guess it's time I said it. I've been to the Enchanted Forest before, loads of times. I averaged about a dream a year since I was about four or five years old. I saw griffins, witches, dragons, centaurs, and each day after I had a dream, I did something magical. Most of the dreams I had were with Suz, but the first one was about Daystar!"  
  
"Yep," Daystar smiled. "She didn't recognize me right away, but I knew the fist time I saw her. She was my little playmate who vanished because she ran off into the Deep Woods although Mother told her specifically not to!"  
  
"Well, how was I to know the difference?"  
  
"Never mind. It was probably my fault. I shouldn't have suggested playing hide-and-seek."  
  
"Anyhow, I had one dream the same week I got the letter from Hogwarts. I was struggling with the idea. Things were already looking up for my going to an all-girl boarding school for the gifted, my dream school. In the dream, I accidentally fell into the Unicorn Pool. And then I woke up soaking from head to toe. That's when I knew for sure that these were not just dreams. I had a new interest for magic, and I could do it more easily than ever before. Daystar told me what it does when I showed him in my dream journals. He said the water of the Unicorn Pool is used in several spells, but few people have actually bathed in the waters. It is said that if someone is immersed in the waters, his most obscure talent becomes as strong as his greatest talent. My greatest talent is my intellect, and my most obscure talent was magic. That's why I can do it so well. I don't know how well I can do it without a wand, but I prefer the control I get in a wand. It's almost at its full potential."  
  
Then, Hermione frowned and looked down. "But why dwell on the past? Suz told me the last time we were there that I could never come back. The Enchanted Forest has a way of bringing out one's gifts. Once it has been manifest, the forest no longer has any use. It's an unspoken law that once the Forest has done its job, the visitor can never find it again. But I want to go back! Now that I understand, I'd like to see how my magic works there. There is still so much I haven't seen, so much I haven't done. The forest is a part of my life. I belong there. That's what I saw in the Mirror of Erised. It was a memory of one of those dreams. And that's why I wept. I knew the one thing I most desired I can never have."  
  
Dumbledore put his arm around her as she started crying again. "That is one of the saddest things about dreamensions. Once you have them figured out, they vanish and you can never find them again. Most of them have very strict laws of who can and cannot visit them, and how many times they can visit."  
  
"But such unspoken laws are not above the king," Daystar said. "Don't cry, Hermes. Whatever happens happens, and it'll work out for the best."  
  
Hermione only nodded and sat down.  
  
"Daystar, may I ask you a personal question?" Harry asked.  
  
Daystar shrugged. "Sure."  
  
"What did you see in the Mirror of Erised?"  
  
"Huh? Oh that. It was strange. The mirror just flashed through images. I saw Shiara, Kazul, you, Morwen, Telemain, Professor Snape, Willin, Mother and Father (I did eventually see them), in short I saw nearly everyone I ever knew. After deciphering the inscription at the top, it didn't take long for me to figure out what the mirror does. I couldn't figure out what it was telling me. Maybe it's that I have everything I want and need, but I still feel like something is missing. Even in the depths of my heart, I don't know what it is."  
  
"Dumbledore once said that the happiest man on earth would use the mirror as a normal mirror, that he would look into it and just see himself the way he is."  
  
"But I didn't see myself."  
  
"You didn't?"  
  
"No. If I didn't know it was magic, I would have thought the mirror was broken."  
  
"Maybe the mirror is saying that you want nothing for yourself. What you want the most is for those you care about to have whatever's best for them."  
  
"Exactly," Dumbledore nodded. "You should be very proud of yourself, Daystar. Very, very few people never see themselves in the mirror, and they are saints indeed. You will truly make a great king." He gave Daystar an encouraging smile and went on his way.  
  
"Tell me more about this mirror," Telemain said leaning over. So Harry explained to him everything he knew about the Mirror of Erised. Telemain nodded intrigued. "Fascinating. It's enough to make one wonder what one would see. It seems clear that what one thinks he might want may not be what he wants at all."  
  
"I know what I would see in that mirror," Morwen said softly.  
  
"You'd pass your evaluation and go on to be a magic college professor?" Hermione suggested.  
  
"No, that's in the bag. I'm sure of it."  
  
Telemain looked at her curiously. "What do you think you'd see, Morwen?"  
  
She answered by holding his hand and looking deeply into his eyes. Telemain smiled and put his arm around her. It was probably the first time they looked like husband and wife to Harry. Morwen stood up and started to walk off with Telemain but then she stopped short.  
  
"Oh, I almost forgot. This is for you." She reached into her sleeve, pulled out a purple envelope, and handed it to Harry. She gave others to Ron, Hermione, and Daystar. "I owled these to certain students this morning. They had a spell so that only the person it was addressed to could read it. Funny thing is, most people who got it were afraid right off that it was a Howler. Like I'd send something like that!" She left laughing.  
  
Harry promptly opened his letter. It read in gold letters:  
  
Meet at 8:00 SHARP tomorrow morning in the DADA room. Bring your pet.  
  
Tell no one.  
  
N.O.T.N.P.  
  
Morwen  
  
The students who received that mysterious letter stumbled into the DADA room, tired and still curious. It was a packed room. All of Harry's friends from Gryffindor were there, as well as some people he recognized from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Even a few people from Slytherin were in the room, but they were upperclassmen that Harry didn't know. Morwen walked in right at 8:00 and locked the door. She quickly took roll. "Good, everyone's here," she said. She muttered something and opened the door again, only this time it opened outdoors. "Single file, please," she said calmly. The students exited the room.  
  
She led them to a clearing near Hagrid's hut. There were already some teachers out there: Dumbledore, McGonagall, Telemain, Hagrid--he was yawning, rubbing his eyes, and mumbling about getting up so early in the morning. Morwen addressed her students. "You have been my best students this year. You are the brightest and the best behaved. All of you have made my first year of teaching very worthwhile. That is why I am giving you this once in a lifetime chance to see this." She pointed up to the sky. Everyone looked up to see a green, zig-zaggy line moving through the clouds. As it came closer, they could see it was a dragon.  
  
"Oh wow!" Ron cried. "It's a Welsh Green. No wait, it's a Romanian Longhorn. No, it's a Antipodean Opaleye."  
  
But as the dragon came closer, Harry could see plainly it was nothing like any of the dragons described in "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them." It had three horns on its head, dark green scales that were gray around the edges, golden, hypnotic eyes, and a very, very toothy smile. She landed in front of the class and bowed. Ron even admitted as the dragon landed, "It's like nothing I ever seen before. If only Charlie were here."  
  
"Students and faculty," Morwen announced, "this is Kazul, King of the Dragons."  
  
Student stood frozen in fear. "So that's who Kazul is," Harry whispered. Hagrid was so amazed, he looked a loss for words.  
  
Finally, Harry came forth prepared to give the standard greeting, but Hagrid beat him to it. He fell at Kazul's feet. "Oh your majesty, I am Rubeus Hagrid, the Game Keeper of Hogwarts, and your servant. I 'ave the suprame honor of being in your presence."  
  
"So, you're Norbert's father?" said Kazul. Many were astounded; they didn't know dragons could speak.  
  
Hagrid looked up and beamed. "You know Norbert?"  
  
"The child came to my realm soon after it was set free. All dragons know the way, you see. It talks about you often, and sends its regards."  
  
"'It,' your majesty?"  
  
"Yes, most dragons don't choose their name or gender until they're at least 300. I think I know which side Norbert's leaning to, though."  
  
"Uh, your majesty," Seamus spoke up, "if it doesn't trouble you, I have a question."  
  
"No trouble at all. What is it, young human?"  
  
"Well, Morwen taught us that female dragons have three horns, and male dragons only have two."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"If you please, your majesty, how could you be king if you are female?"  
  
"Now, that is something about you humans that I do not understand. The position of king has nothing to do with gender with dragons. It is a job description, nothing more."  
  
"I like that!" Parvati shouted. "So how did you become king?"  
  
"The King of the Dragons is the one who can move Colin's Stone through the Vanishing Mountains."  
  
"Oh, I wish I could see that," Hagrid whispered.  
  
Kazul gave another large, toothy smile as she looked down at Harry and his friends. "So, you are the young warrior," she said looking at Harry. "Did you enjoy the trip through the Caves of Fire and Night, Harry?"  
  
"Yes, your majesty," Harry answered bowing.  
  
"Your majesty, if you please, I have a question," Ron asked. "What is the King's Cave?"  
  
"The King's Cave is where we discovered Colin's Stone," Kazul answered. "Each stone in that room have a kind of aura that most dragons can't stand."  
  
"That's why it hurt me," Ron said quietly. "Another question, so please your majesty. What breed of dragon are you?"  
  
Kazul snorted. It might have been a small chuckle. "I don't keep with those. I think they're different in my world than they are here anyway."  
  
"Maybe."  
  
Everybody was soon anxious to talk to Kazul. She was quite sensible, even had a little sense of humor. She even let students ride on her back. Cats and owls were already resting on her back, but Kazul hardly took notice.  
  
After an hour or so, Mendanbar and Cimorene showed up from out of nowhere. "Harry! Good to see you," Mendanbar nodded.  
  
"Good to see you, your majesty. So, what are you all doing here?"  
  
"We came to see Morwen's final evaluation, and I'm supposed to make a speech."  
  
Harry looked around and saw all the faculty was now outside. Dumbledore called for silence. He spoke into the same voice modifier Lee Jordan used for commentating. "Morwen, from our observing you, we have concluded that your teaching skills are excellent. You have made learning fun but have also maintained discipline. Therefore, it is my honor to announce that you have successfully passed your evaluation and may teach whatever you'd like. Congratulations."  
  
"Thank you, Albus," Morwen accepted. "I will be very honored to teach next year," several students cheered loudly, then Morwen continued, "but not in Defense of the Dark Arts." Silence. "You see, certain teachers" (she glanced in Snape's direction) "have told me that my teaching of the subject is a little off. I tend to agree. Let's face it; the darkest things I've been up against are plants, and you learn about those from Prof. Sprout. I think it should be handed over to someone who has more experience."  
  
Most students watched her with somber silence. Finally, Dumbledore shook her hand. "Very well, Morwen. Whatever suits you."  
  
"Thank you. Now, to speak on an exciting, new program starting next year, I would like to introduce my friend, Mendanbar."  
  
Mendanbar came up to the podium and spoke. "Good morning, students. Many of you were sorely disappointed that the Honors Program fell through due to circumstances beyond your control. Morwen was very upset that she wasn't able to do some of the things she wanted to do. Next year, you will have the opportunity to experience these subjects in a new setting. It is my honor to announce the beginning of Hogwarts' first ever study abroad program. This summer, we will prepare Mendanbar School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Enchanted Forest. This setting won't have as many restrictions as Hogwarts since it is a completely magic country. We'll have new classes, new teachers, and new extra-curricular activities. Think about it over the break, and we'll pass along more information to you. Hope to see you in autumn. Thank you very much."  
  
The students applauded, and the attention of the assembly turned to whether or not they would attend Mendanbar next year.  
  
"Where do I sign up?" Ron said excitedly.  
  
"I'd join in a heartbeat too, if I could make the trip," Hermione said sadly.  
  
Harry stayed silent. If this was going to be like the permission slip to go to Hogsmead, he didn't know if there would be a chance in a million that he would go.  
  
Meanwhile, Morwen was standing just outside the castle talking to Draco and Goyle. Goyle looked like he was going to say something, but Draco beat him to it. "Yeah, take your stupid cat! He's mental! Kept jumping all around, screaming his head off about a Society of Wizards. Nothing like that exists."  
  
"Yes, Wachoo is rather crazy," Morwen nodded. "That might be the reason why he was put in Slytherin with you."  
  
Draco just sneered and walked away.  
  
Then a young Irish girl from Hufflepuff approached Morwen. "Morwen, may I keep Fflewddur? I love his stories. He's just like the bard he was named after."  
  
"Certainly, Diana. You'll give him a good home, I know."  
  
She gave Fflewddur one goodbye pet and saw him on. Harry met her there.  
  
"Come to say goodbye?" she asked.  
  
"Are you not going to come back next year?"  
  
"I'm sorry, no. I'm going to be deputy headmistress at Mendanbar. I belong at my home." Harry still looked doubtful. "Oh, alright. Telemain and I talked yesterday. We're going to try to start a family. "  
  
"How come?"  
  
"Well for one thing it's not traditional. Witches are supposed to eat children, not have children. And, you know, teaching here kinda makes me wish I had a child of my own. I like children. I loved the first years the most. I'd like to see one grow up and maybe even go to Hogwarts. Anyhow, I can't very well teach all the way over here if I have a little one at home."  
  
"Oh. Well, good luck. I wish you could have been our first permanent DADA teacher, but you know, you can't have it all."  
  
Daystar was shaking hands with all the teachers, thanking them for a great year. He even spent some time talking to the teachers he didn't really have for most of the year. The final teacher he spoke to was Snape. "Professor, it was fun playing Devil's Advocate with you. And for the record, Mother told me I was named after the morning star, the last hope for our kingdom."  
  
Snape smiled weakly. "You will make a fine king, Daystar."  
  
"Say it," Daystar beckoned. "Come on, give the devil his due."  
  
Snape looked down. "You're my best student. Now get out of my sight!"  
  
Daystar smiled. "Thank you. And you're not so bad a teacher. Sorry about how we accused you earlier."  
  
After all the teachers, he turned to the Headmaster. First he shook his hand and whispered, "Thanks." Then he would not let go and shook more vigorously. Then he hugged Dumbledore. "Thank you so much," he said.  
  
Dumbledore let him go and said, "Good luck to you, Daystar."  
  
Harry went up to Daystar as he saw these things. Was Daystar saying goodbye already? "Well Harry, it was an honor knowing you," he said shaking Harry's hand.  
  
"What? You're going? Now?"  
  
"I'm afraid so. Father had some big thing he wanted me to attend to immediately. He won't tell me what it is."  
  
"But what about the Leaving Feast? Don't you want to see Gryffindor win the House Cup?"  
  
"I'd love to see Gryffindor win the House Cup, but you know a prince's job is never done."  
  
"You're coming next year, aren't you?"  
  
"Doesn't look like it. You'll be coming to Mendanbar, won't you?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
Daystar merely patted Harry's shoulder. "We will meet again."  
  
Harry saw out of the corner of his eye Peeves saying a tearful goodbye to Genie. He never did imagine Peeves being the emotional type. Then Genie joined Morwen, Telemain, and Daystar. They waved one last time as they mounted on Kazul's back, and the dragon flew away. The students and several teachers waved goodbye until she disappeared from sight.  
  
The feast wasn't as satisfying as it was in previous years, and the trip back to Hogwarts was much quieter than usual in Harry's cabin. He spent the time writing a letter to Sirius about all that happened.  
  
"Ron, can I borrow Pigwidgeon?"  
  
"Sure. Don't need her talking my ear off all summer."  
  
Harry owled the letter off to Sirius right off the bat. Afterward, Ron invited Harry to his house later that summer. Harry said he'd try, glad to have something to look forward to. He knew he had nothing for him on Privet Drive.  
  
Mr. Dursley was waiting for Harry at King's Cross station. He didn't say a word to Harry as he drove him back to the house. Neither did Mr. Dursley or Dudley greet him warmly as he returned home. They completely ignored him as he ate his meager supper. He went by himself to his room.  
  
"Another summer with the Durseleys," he said quietly.  
  
"Well, at least you'll have some company," Hedwig said hopefully.  
  
"True, but we better keep that low key. If they found out I was talking to owls, they might throw us out altogether."  
  
"I understand," Hedwig answered.  
  
Harry stroked her white feathers then got in bed. "Goodnight, Hedwig."  
  
"Goodnight," she whispered back. Then Harry fell into a dreamless sleep.  
  
Someone shaking his shoulder wakened him. Harry was afraid for a moment that there was something wrong, like the house was on fire or something. Then he thought, "No, the Durseleys would probably forget about me and just let me die." So he put on his glasses and saw, "Mendanbar!"  
  
"On your knees," the king commanded.  
  
Harry was confused. Last time he was on his knees before Mendanbar, he was rebuked. "But I thought--"  
  
"On your knees!" Mendanbar said sternly. He didn't sound angry, but Harry felt like he'd better do what Mendanbar commanded or else. He knelt and looked up at Mendanbar. Then, the king drew the dreadful blade, the sword that Daystar carried. "Bow your head," Mendanbar said.  
  
Harry lowered his head in fear. Had he broken a serious law by wielding the sword at Hogwarts? Was he going to be executed right here and now? If so, why had Mendanbar not said anything that morning? Could this be a dream, a horrible nightmare?  
  
The magic of the sword seemed to hum above him. The air around Harry shuddered, then went deathly still. It was as though time had stopped. Then, Harry heard Mendanbar's voice again.  
  
"Harry Potter, for your acts of courage and loyalty, I, King Mendanbar in the name of my domain, the Enchanted Forest, do hereby dub you Harry Potter the Brave and do give to you a portion of my domain for your service. Arise, Sir Harry Potter."  
  
The sword lightly touched Harry's shoulders as Mendanbar spoke, and as it did the air shuddered with magic again. Harry stood at Mendanbar's command, wondering if he had heard correctly. Had he been knighted in his pajamas? Yet, as he stood, he saw he was no longer in his room but in a lush, green meadow with brightly colored flowers all around him. And there were people applauding him. Cimorene, Daystar, Shiara, Morwen, Telemain, and Willin were there, and so were many of Harry's other friends like Dumbledore and Hagrid. Harry somewhat embarrassed, but when he looked down he saw himself in very rich clothes made of silk, colored red and gold like his Quidditch robes. He had a long cape of gold and a holster for his wand, or was it for--?  
  
"Your sword, Sir Harry." Daystar handed him a fine blade. "You'll like it. It has magic powers, one of which is to make the wearer invincible."  
  
Harry held it up to the light. It was indeed beautiful. "Thank you."  
  
"Oh no, thank you."  
  
"Salute!" Kazul had given the command. Harry was amazed to see dragons of all shapes, colors, and breeds there with her, more than he had ever imagined. And as he held the sword, the dragons breathed fireballs in the air. It must have been a huge honor.  
  
Everyone then came and wished Harry congratulations from there, saying it couldn't have happened to a better person and so. Nearly Headless Nick nodded at him. "Welcome to the order, Harry. You'll enjoy it. Just make sure nobody tries to chop off your head."  
  
Dobby nearly tackled Harry with a hug as he congratulated him. "Harry Potter is a knight!" the house elf squealed over and over.  
  
It was nice to see everyone there, but Harry was beginning to wonder where his best friends were. They came and congratulated him last. Ron came first.  
  
"Wow Harry! You're a knight? Cool! Guess what? Kazul made me Chief Treasurer and Historian! That means I get to sort through all her cool treasure and read some of the library books. I'm going to learn lots more about my dragon roots!"  
  
"And Cimorene made me a Duchess!" Hermione said happily. "I can't believe it! I can come back here as much as I want! I'll just take all the magic in here and do--whatever duchesses do!"  
  
"That raises an interesting point," Harry thought aloud. He turned to Mendanbar.  
  
The king smiled and knelt to Harry's level. "Sorry if my speech sounded awkward. I never really knighted anyone before, so I was kinda winging it.  
  
"It sounded fine. Mendanbar, what do you want me to do as a knight? Do I go out, kill dragons, and save damsels in distress or something?"  
  
Mendanbar looked thoughtful. "Is that what you want to do?"  
  
"Well, not particularly."  
  
"There will be a bunch of things I will think of for you. Perhaps destroy some patches of Dragonsbane, be a mediator for the elves--"  
  
"Help build Mendanbar School."  
  
"Oh, didn't you know? The school's going to be the castle."  
  
"It will?"  
  
"Yeah, I won't mind. It's usually just Willin, Cimorene, Daystar, and me there anyway. But anyhow, I don't know exactly what you'll do. You are, after all, our first and only knight. Technically, we don't need an army, what with the dragons next door. But I'm sure every bit of it will be an adventure. You'll be with your friends, and you'll be seeing new places."  
  
"All right. I bet it will be fun, better than living with the Durseleys, anyway."  
  
Then, Harry saw right past Mendanbar another special guest he must speak to. He rushed over to the man speaking to Daystar. As he saw Harry, he hugged him.  
  
"My own grandson, a knight. If only your mother and father were here. I'm very proud of you, Harry."  
  
"Thanks Sirius. Hey, you really should come here to stay. No one will find you and Buckbeak, and if anybody did see you, they'll think it was no more than a crazy dream."  
  
Sirius paused for a long time, then nodded. "I'll think about it."  
  
And so Harry and his friends had many adventures in the Enchanted Forest. No matter what strain he underwent with the Durseleys, Harry knew what awaited him at night.  
  
And he dreamed happily ever after.  
  
THE END  
  
--Thanks once again to everyone who reviewed, especially DumbOldDork (who actually is a very observant person!). If you haven't reviewed please do and let me know what you think. If this is really popular, I'm thinking about doing a companion story, excerpts from Hermione's dream diaries that tell of her adventures in the Enchanted Forest. I might do a sequel if I can think of a good story for it. Thanks again! Later, SJO 


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